More Than 10,000 Gil
by The-Lady-Isis
Summary: Love may make the world go around, but money's what greases the axle. I'm crap at these, but it's my first one. Hope you like it - all reviews welcome. SeiferxQuistis
1. A Bet

DISCLAIMER: Only the plot of the fic is mine, everything is belongs to Square. Goes for the whole thing.

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It would have been a lie to say that she walked into it with her eyes closed; she knew what would happen. She knew that one day Seifer would dump her onto the hard, unfeeling ground and break her heart. She knew that as surely as she knew her own name. Quistis had always been pragmatic, and she could see quite clearly what a relationship with him would be; passionate, incredibly intense, and short. But it didn't stop her from falling in love with him anyway.

It started simply enough: with Seifer trying to prove that he could make any woman he wanted fall into bed with him within an hour of kissing her. Raijin and Fujin had no trouble believing him; at least thirty girls in Garden had fallen for those green eyes and the easy arrogance that helped fuel the sexiness that he exuded. That and the promises that he'd be there when they woke up in the morning. He always found it funny when they caught up with him in the hallway the next day with their whiny voices. Raijin and Fujin were tired of handing over a thousand Gil a girl, so they set a challenge that was little more complex. The one woman in Balamb Garden who was certain not to sleep with him. Instructor Quistis Trepe.

Seifer didn't blink when they announced his next target. "Fine. How much time do I have?"

"One night."

He raised his eyebrows. "Even I'm not going to get the ice queen to defrost that quickly. I want two months."

"Two months?!"

"ONE," Fujin said.

"I want more money this time. She's a big prize, let's not pretend she's only worth a thousand Gil."

Raijin and Fujin both snickered at each other, both knowing in a million years he'd never pull this one off. "FINE."

"Ten thousand."

"Done."

"You ain't gonna do this," Raijin said, grinning at Fujin.

Seifer said nothing, simply smirked and put his feet up on the desk as his new future-conquest walked into the room.

He cornered her after class that afternoon.

---

Quistis sighed, removed her glasses closing her eyes and rubbed the bridge of her nose. Her thoughts lingered on the last cadet to have walked out of that door. Squall Leonheart. She pictured herself waking up with him by her side in the mornings, being the one woman able to bring out a smile in him. Then her icy common sense cut in and reminded her that it was unethical and would cost her her job if anything did happen. But, Hyne, she wanted it so badly. "Damn it, get _out_ of there!" she whispered out loud.

"Didn't think you the type to talk to yourself, Instructor." A deep, drawling voice, perpetually amused and arrogant. The one person that frustrated her more than anyone else. Seifer.

Her eyes snapped open. "Seifer. What is it?" she asked, standing up and walking around her desk.

"Oh, nothing really. Just wondering what my favourite instructor is up to."

She raised an eyebrow. "What do you want?"

"I can't come by just to say hi?"

"Considering it's you, no."

"Alright, I may have an ulterior motive."

She raised an eyebrow. "And that would be…"

"To tell you that your ass looks good in that skirt," he smirked.

She slapped him with a _crack _that echoed around the room. It left a livid red mark on his face that showed a very defined handprint once she took her hand down. "Don't _ever_ speak to me like that again," she said, venom in her tone. But they both knew there was nothing she could do now. Her SeeD uniform was regulation, and even if she used the issue trousers instead, then Seifer would know he'd won. If she kept it, she'd know that he was watching her all the time. If she changed, she'd be handing him his victory on a plate.

The smirk had gone, but now it flickered back again. "Didn't know that I got to you that much, Trepe."

"Why the hell are you still here, Seifer?" she spat.

"I really get under your skin, don't I?" he said.

She took her glasses off and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Yes. Yes you do," she sighed. "Are you happy now?"

"No." His answer surprised them both. "Do you really think I do it just to piss you off?"

"Then why do you do it?" she demanded, somehow managing to look intimidating despite being several inches shorter than him.

He shrugged. "Be nice to get your attention off Puberty Boy for a while. I can't exactly run up to you, hit you and run away again, can I?"

She stared at him. "Are you-" She frowned, then closed her eyes and ran her tongue over her lips in a gesture that Seifer found indescribably _tempting_. Had she always been a beautiful woman? The sapphire eyes opened again. "I really don't want to know what you're implying, Seifer. It smacks of inappropriateness."

"Sure you want to know," he said firmly. He took one step closer. "I'm not implying anything. I'm _stating_ it. I. Like-"

"Seifer-"

"You. And you like me too, whether you want to admit it or not."

"I'm _not _attracted to you," she said defiantly. "I have a little more control over my hormones than that, thank you very much." Blatant lie. She may have been a cool, calm and collected Instructor, but under the surface she was what any eighteen year old woman was; a raging fireworks display of chemicals. Most of which were urging her to lean forward and close the gap between their lips.

"Oh yeah? Then why are you about to kiss me?" Seifer asked, the smirk more pronounced now.

"I'm not," she whispered, heart hammering as another wave of his scent washed over her. She could feel the heat radiating from his body, so close was he.

Seifer grinned briefly, then bent and pressed his lips to hers. It was swift and soft and, for Seifer, chaste. Ish. She didn't pull away. When he did, he had to grin at her expression; caught between outrage that he'd done it and surprise that she'd enjoyed it so much. Then it cleared, and her fist curled, and suddenly his face was being forced backward as she punched his nose. "Ow! Fuck it, Trep-"

She grabbed his collar, pulled him down and kissed the hell out of him. He actually froze for a second, used to being the one to deliver that kind of – _Holy Hyne the woman can kiss _– scorching, nuclear-fire kiss, but then got over it and kissed back. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer as she moaned a little and opened her mouth slightly. Her tongue slid into his mouth, and within seconds they were warring for dominance of the kiss. Then –_Shit, is that _me he thought in horror. Seifer didn't_moan _during kisses. Except apparently when the girl tasted as good as Quistis did.

After about two solid minutes of them kissing the shit out of each other, they broke apart, breathing heavily. "Mmm. That wasn't bad, you know," she commented. "Goodnight, Seifer."

She walked away, switching the light off and leaving him standing in the dark not quite knowing what had just happened. Then, once his kiss-addled brain had worked it out, he let out a small, outraged noise. "She just…_used _me!" Then he burst out laughing. "I've got to hand it to you, Trepe," he said, looking at the door, "this is going to be a challenge."

---

A/N: Please, please, please, PLEASE review. It's my first fic & if I'm crappy I wanna kno. Cheers, Isis x x x


	2. Worth More Than That

It continued in this manner for weeks. He'd find some excuse to come back after Quistis's class, and find her waiting for him, more often than not sitting on her desk, legs crossed, showing a considerable amount of the best legs in Garden. Unlike the first time, there was no conversation or violence. All that was there was was heat and movement and the occasional gasp or moan. But somehow Quistis managed to remain in command, always dictating the pace of it and stopping _just_ as Seifer thought he was in luck this time. It became an obsession beyond simply winning money; no woman had ever held out on him this long before, and it wasn't doing his pride any good. He had the feeling that Quistis was enjoying it, but was liking the power over him just as much as the kissing itself.

They both knew that it was going further than it should have. In a way, Seifer was right; Quistis was enjoying it, and she found that in her classes, it wasn't Squall that all her attention was focused on anymore. She felt Seifer's eyes on her the whole time, and loved the sense of power she got drawing a line when it went too far. It was getting harder though. Sometimes they were so absorbed in each other that they would have been having sex were it not for the clothes blocking it. Feeling his hardness press against her stomach, or his hands massage her breasts, she couldn't hold back gasps and moans.

He found himself looking forward to her scent and her lips and her hair. It wasn't until Raijin pointed out that he only had three days left to complete the bet that he even remembered he didn't really want her. _Or do I? _It was hard to deny that those blue eyes were hypnotic, or that she fit perfectly into his arms. Or that he was starting to dream about the taste of her. _Damn it, what the hell am I doing? _

The day before the deadline, and just as he was beginning to get desperate, Quistis wasn't teaching her class; she was in the Infirmary instead with some minor injuries from battling in the training centre. Seifer denied that he was worried about her, and was only going to make sure he was in with a chance tomorrow. He really didn't want to part with ten grand. He'd never lost a bet, and he wasn't about to start now.

However, when he did saunter into the Infirmary, it was with more concern than he'd like. Seifer Almasy didn't get worried about other people: he worried about one person only – himself. Finding her room, he checked for other people around. Not finding any, he opened the door. Inside, Quistis was lying in bed asleep, her blonde hair spread out across the pillow. One of her arms was in a sling; a bruise on her forehead and scratches on her face. _Shit, what the hell attacked her? _

He moved forward, frowning and brushed her face with his fingertips. She stirred at his touch, murmuring what sounded a lot like his name, but didn't wake up. He caught himself with a smile on his face. She looked like an angel. _Whoa, got to stop those thoughts right there! _All the same, he carried on watching her sleep. She stirred again, and that struck a spark of panic in him. He got up and crossed to the door. Just as he opened it, he heard it for certain this time. "Seifer…"

He gave a smug smile, then made his way out of the Infirmary. When he got back to his room, the grin was gone. His chances of getting laid by tomorrow now seemed remote. He grimaced, heaved a sigh and counted out ten thousand Gil. Quistis wasn't in class the next day either, and after they'd eaten, his posse turned to him. "WELL?" Fujin said.

He scowled. "Gloat and I will disembowel you." He handed over the money, then stomped off with his gunblade, ready to inflict some serious damage on whatever creature happened to be unfortunate enough to cross his path in the training centre.

"Wow, he looks pissed," Raijin said, taking a moment to look up from his money.

Fujin shrugged. "MONEY."

Raijin took the hint and went back to dividing it up.

----

Quistis looked up at the clock in the Library and smiled. She'd gone there on her way back from the Infirmary to pick up a book she'd reserved. The librarian at the desk raised her eyebrows in a disapproving manner at her. Quistis couldn't work out why, until she realised that she was in a library. Whistling. She hadn't realised that she was whistling, but she had every reason to be. She'd just cheated Seifer out of ten thousand Gil.

She'd known from day one that he wouldn't risk being kicked out of Garden unless he had serious motivation; all she'd had to do was a little digging to find out what. So she'd kept him at bay until a) he was ten thousand Gil down, and b) until he was so hot for her that he was practically panting whenever she walked into the room. She loved the sense of power it gave her; but she wasn't so naive as to think that she herself wasn't in danger of losing it. And she was; she was aware of his every movement, found being with him intoxicating. Though she'd deny it, Quistis was rapidly becoming addicted to him.

But that didn't stop her from indulging in a little petty revenge. _Ten thousand Gil. I'm worth more than ten thousand fucking Gil. _She giggled like a school girl as she collected her book and left, still humming to herself.

"Hey, Quistis!"

She turned to see Xu coming toward her. She grinned. "Hey."

"Why are you so happy?"

She giggled again. "Who says I'm happy?"

"You're humming. You don't hum." Another giggle. "Seriously, what is it?"

"Ten thousand Gil," she eventually answered.

"Well, that's enough to make anyone happy."

"Yep. Are you free for a coffee or something now? Be nice to chat."

"I wish I had time! I've got a mountain of paperwork to get back to though. I'll see you later, Quis."

"Bye." Quistis waved her friend off, then began strolling back to her dorm, toying with the idea of going to find Seifer. She spent the next five minutes in a rosy haze as she imagined the consequences of doing that. She really wanted to sleep with him. She wanted to feel his hard muscles under her hands, to feel his skin pressed against hers, to see his emerald eyes dark with lust when they looked at her naked skin.

Not looking where she was going, she tripped, the book falling to the floor. She bent to collect it. _Damn it, get those kind of thoughts out of your head! _When she straightened up, Seifer's arm shot out of nowhere, cutting off her route. She jumped, then sighed at her own stupidity. "Was there something you wanted, Seifer?"

His lips landed on hers with angry passion. She let the book tumble out of her arms as her body slammed against the wall, held in place by Seifer's as her arms wrapped around his shoulders. His mouth tore away from her lips to plant kisses all over her sensitive neck. "Seifer…" she moaned.

He vowed that she'd spend all night doing that. He broke the kiss. "Five minutes, my room."

She pulled him back for another savage kiss. "I don't take…fucking orders…from cadets."

He backed off, letting her off the wall. "Five minutes, Instructor."

"Bite me."

"Only if you ask nicely," he smirked, walking away.

"Son of a-" She stormed off back to her room in a towering rage. Once she got in there, she turned her back to the door and crossed her arms. "I am not going anywhere near him ever again. Arrogant bastard. 'Five minutes'. As if _he _can just order_me _around like that, I _don't_ think." Five minutes crawled past. Her mood didn't improve, made worse by the fact that she wanted him so badly, and that every nerve was screaming at her to go to his room and let him do what he wanted, since it was obviously what she wanted as well. When the seventh minute advanced, she left her room, fuming at Seifer, and at herself for going to him, and so aroused that her clothes were chafing her skin.

---

A/N: I know, it's a short one again. But I can't seem to write long ones... Oh, LEMON in the next chapter.


	3. Who Seduces Who?

She arrived at his door and knocked on it rapidly. It opened within three seconds. She felt a little better knowing that despite his casual attitude, he'd obviously been waiting for her. He smirked when he saw her. "Instructor, what a sur-"

"Who the hell do you think you are?!" She pushed him inside, his back hitting the wall.

"Well, not that I mind women making the first-"

She cut him off by ripping her shirt off and making his eyes pop out of his head. "You want to sleep with me? Then fine! I'm going to screw you so senseless that you won't even remember how to talk!"

"Quistis-"

"Bedroom, _now_!" She didn't wait for him to move, instead simply kissing him hard again. His hands gripped her ass, pulling her mouth up to his as her hands wrapped around his neck. He turned, keeping her body against his using the wall, but her legs wrapped around his waist anyway. He kissed and bit her neck roughly as her hands tore his clothes from his body. In no time flat they were both naked, and stumbling to the bed to fall on it in a tangle of limbs and gasps.

He moved his mouth down to shower kisses and nips on her breasts with vindictive pleasure as she gasped his name helplessly. He smirked before taking a swollen nipple into his mouth and swirling his tongue around it slowly, milking pleas from her lips as she helplessly bucked her hips against his. His mouth went over to lavish the same attentions on her other breast, forcing her back to arch against his lips. "Seifer…just…" She didn't finish, but said it anyway by moving her hips once again, her sex grazing against his erection and causing both of them to gasp once more.

He smirked. "All in good time, Instructor…"

She growled and wrapped her legs around his hips, flipping them both over and looking down on him with fire in her azure eyes. Her lips descended on his neck, licking and biting the sensitive flesh of his ear lobe before moving down his body. When he felt her mouth envelope him, his eyes rolled back in his head as his hands grasped her shoulders helplessly. Hyne, if she kept that up, he was going to-

"Quistis, you gotta stop-"

She looked up and met his eyes, giving the tip of his erection a final kiss before he grabbed her upper arms and pushed her roughly onto her back. She grinned, then bit her lip, moaning loudly as he thrust into her. Immediately, he set a hard, penetrating rhythm, producing another moan with every movement. His groans echoed around the room to join hers, and her nails pressed into his shoulders hard, then raked down the hard muscles of his back. His hands slipped under her arching back to lift her up to his lips in a passionate kiss that she returned just as fervently. The movements sped up as they drove each other toward climax.

Quistis felt the pleasure rising through her like a flood as she moaned Seifer's name over and over again, until it got so intense that she couldn't say anything anymore. The ecstasy in her flesh suddenly catapulted her upward to the zenith of euphoria as she screamed out loud. Seifer's mouth and tongue smothered her cries, and she felt his climax fill her and make her mind go blank with bliss even as part of her dimly heard him groaning her name at his peak.

Once their senses had returned to them, and their pounding hearts and heavy breathing had calmed, Seifer raised his head from where it had been resting in the crook of her neck and kissed her once more. "Worth the wait?" he smirked.

She grinned. "Worth the price?" A laugh burst from her at his stunned expression.

He narrowed his eyes to slits of emerald fire. "You are damned lucky I don't hit women, Trepe." In fact he wasn't even that mad; if he'd known what a firecracker she'd be in bed he'd have gladly coughed up double the amount he had. But she didn't really need to know that. Seifer reached for his cigarettes, lighting one and inhaling the nicotine-laden smoke with satisfaction. He glanced over at Quistis, who was also looking ridiculously smug. "What's up with you?"

"What?"

"You're glowing." He winced as he said that; he hadn't meant to, and had no idea where it had come from. It was true though – she really was…beautiful. Radiant. He had no idea where these words were coming from, especially since Seifer only used words like that _before _the seduction. That part was well and truly over, and he wasn't even sure that he'd been the seducer in this little scenario. _Is she ever going to stop surprising me? _

"Thanks, Seifer. It's not going to get you laid again."

He smirked, then took another lungful of smoke, deciding to wind her up a little. "Can't believe I got you into bed," he remarked.

"Did you?" she asked mildly. "I seem to remember _me_ getting _you_ here."

Seifer couldn't help bristling a little. "So you needed a screw and Puberty Boy wasn't responding, is that it?"

There was silence for a few moments as Quistis thought over that. Being here, next to Seifer in all his astonishing nakedness, had put a few things in very clear perspective. "I never really wanted Squall, you know."

Seifer was listening intently to her next words, but made sure to keep his utterly-uninterested expression on his face.

"He just…is everything I told myself I _should _want. Not what I do want." She sighed. "Or maybe I do love him, I don't know…"

"Nah, you don't love puberty boy," he said in a matter-of-fact way, taking another drag.

"No?" she asked, raising her eyebrow.

He shook his head. "You were right about that. All he could give you was safety. Stability," he said, sneering at the word. Then the smirk crept back on to his face. "You want what I can give you."

She rolled over onto her stomach and bit the space between his shoulder and his neck gently. "Unemployment?"

He reached over and put the half-smoked cigarette onto the ashtray, then kissed her deeply. When he broke away, the smoke curled from her mouth. She blew it out. "What then? What do you give me that I can't get from Squall?"

"Danger," he stated. "I'm a risk. And you like that."

She grinned, then surprised them both by reaching for the still-lit cigarette and taking a drag.

Seifer waited for her to start coughing, then laughed when she didn't. "You've done that before."

Quistis laughed. "Why does everyone think that I've been a good girl all my life?"

"You have. C'mon, Trepe, no point pretending otherwise."

She put the cigarette back, then straddled him. "What if I prove it to you? What if I show you exactly how bad I can be…" She pressed her hips down, rocking in a slow, circular motion over his groin.

He gripped her hips. "Fuck! Are you trying to kill me, Trepe?"

She leant down and took his bottom lip between her teeth. "That's _Instructor _Trepe to you, Almasy," she murmured huskily, with another push down, rubbing against his rapidly-developing erection.

A moan escaped his lips before he could stop it. "Quistis…"

She kissed his neck. "Yes…" The kiss moved to the other side of his neck. "Seifer…?" And back again. Kiss. "Is there…" Kiss. "…something…" Kiss. "…wrong?" With the last word, she bit him instead, hard, leaving tiny teeth marks on his jaw line.

His eyes, closed in ecstasy a second before, snapped open. "Damn it, Quistis!"

She grinned. "Told you I could be a bad girl when I wanted." He was fully hard by this time, and she teased him some more, letting him feel how ready she was without letting him enter her.

He grabbed her shoulders and crashed his lips into hers. She broke away almost instantly. "Ah-ah-ah, Seifer. It's your turn to not be in control now."

He growled, then flipped them both, trapping her body underneath his own. She laughed; a scintillating sound that made him smile reflexively. She pulled him down to her lips, kissing him so passionately it was almost angry.

She was angry; angry that she'd allowed him to seduce her, angry that she wasn't on top anymore, angry that this was going to end before the sun rose. But she also – as much as she hated to admit it – she'd _needed _this. She'd needed someone to come and make her feel desired, to feel special. Granted, perhaps Seifer wasn't the cadet she would have chosen to do it, but having him here worshipping her body was wonderful.

She couldn't hold back a moan as his mouth moved down to her breasts. Her fingers entwined in his hair, holding his wonderful lips and tongue there while her back arched upward. He took a nipple into his mouth, swirling his tongue around it, moving to the other one while Quistis writhed in pleasure. He ran a hand up her leg, enjoying the silky smoothness against his palm. He drew back a little to look deep into her eyes for a moment. She grinned at the pure lust in his jade eyes, then had to close her eyes, giving a cry when he entered her. His movements weren't as urgent as the first time, but more possessive. Leonheart might be his equal in everything else, but in _this_ – when it came to Quistis – he would win. He would have the one thing that Squall never would. Her body arched against him with another moan escaping from her beautiful lips, reminding him that he had a stunning woman writhing in pleasure at his mere touch and that his attention belonged squarely back on her. Within a moment, however, his brain had been taken completely out of the equation, and the white flare of pleasure was building through their merged bodies. By the time she was calling his name to the room, and he was moaning hers, and euphoria was surging through her, and setting his nerves on fire they both knew that this wasn't going to end any time soon.

Afterward, when the thrusts had slowed and Quistis's body had recovered from the aftershocks of her climax, he put his head on her chest, feeling her heart pound wildly. "I'm guessing you've had practice at that," she panted.

He smirked. "You calling me a slut, Trepe?"

She laughed. "Yeah, I am."

He rolled over onto his back. She kissed him once more, tasting the bitter perspiration on his skin, then got up and started dressing, pulling on her skirt and smoothing out the creases. She crossed to the mirror and put her hair back up in its tight style. Seifer watched her with an odd expression on her face. "What?" she asked.

He blinked; he hadn't realised her was staring at her. But it was difficult not to look at the slender curves of her body, or the sheen of her hair. "Nothing." Then the smug smirk crept back on his face.

Quistis fixed her hair then turned to him smiling. "Well, now that I'm dressed, I'm leaving."

"What? _You're _leaving?" He was the one that left. The _woman _didn't leave.

She bent and kissed him. "I realise that it isn't something you're used to, Seifer, but I'm sure you'll cope. Goodnight." She turned and left, leaving a completely bewildered Seifer in her wake.


	4. Beautiful

A/N: I hope the lemon wasn't too bad. I always think I'm better than I am at writing them. Let me know!

The next day passed as it always had. If Seifer had been expecting Quistis to blush every time they made eye contact, then he was disappointed. She treated him as coolly as anyone else in the class, cutting through his arrogance with acidic remarks and putting him back into second place after Squall. When she was handing back tests they'd done the week before, he couldn't hold back a retort as he got his. He knew he'd got all the answers right, but his paper was covered in red pen. "What the fuck is this, Trepe?"

"Good job, Squall, well done." She pushed her glasses up. "I realise your powers of observation aren't particularly great, Seifer, but it's your exam paper."

"I mean why the fuck is it all wrong?"

"Normally, when you put incorrect answers down, that can be a contributing factor. I suggest you study next time."

He scoffed. "Some of us don't _need _to study to prove our genius, Trepe."

She sat at her desk and lightly scratched her neck, just revealing one collarbone and enough creamy skin to make Seifer groan inwardly. "Well, any time you want to start proving it, do let me know, won't you? I would hate to be unprepared," she remarked. "Now, page thirty-four, you'll find a list…" Seifer knew that if his looks could kill, there would be a dead Instructor at the front of the class. That led to thinking about the last time he'd seen her lying down. Underneath him, her nubile body writhing in pleasure under his hands. He shifted uncomfortably, then realised exactly why and where he was uncomfortable. _Fuck. How can she do that to me without touching me?_ He was impervious to women for Hyne's sake. He used them once and lost interest after that. Yet here he was more aroused now than he had been last night. He spent the rest of the lesson with his eyes closed, picturing very unsexy things. _Cid naked, Cid naked, Cid naked…Urgh that's disgusting. Working though. _

When Quistis dismissed the class, he was back to being unruffled again. "Seifer, stay a moment," she said. _I knew it wouldn't take her long_, he smirked. _It never does. _

"You after second-helpings, Instructor?" he asked, swaggering to the desk. "I know how hard it can be to-"

"I'm giving you a week's detention," she said crisply without looking up from tidying her desk.

"What?! What the fuck for?"

She stood up, fixing him in her ice-blue gaze. "First, for being late. Then for swearing repeatedly in my class, and for not addressing me in the appropriate fashion."

He raised his eyebrows. "You didn't seem to mind so much last night."

"Twenty hundred hours in the Training Centre tomorrow. I'm sure you can use your genius to figure out where that is," she said coolly. Then she walked away without a backward glance.

"That…bitch! She's a complete bitch! And I wasted my time doing her a favour by screwing her! See if that fucking happens again," he muttered. Then realised he was speaking to an empty classroom. "You're losing it, Almasy," he said darkly to himself. Then, with a growl of frustration, he did the only thing he could do; knocked over the pot of pencils sat on her desk in an extremely childish act of revenge. "See how the ever-organised Quisty likes that," he smirked. Then he stopped. _Quisty? Where did that come from… _He felt something nagging at the edge of his mind, but pushed it away, stalking from the room to the cafeteria.

He flopped into a chair opposite Raijin and Fujin with his tray of food, proceeding to just pick at it. His posse looked at each other, alarmed by this sudden lack of an appetite. Seifer had never not eaten. Ever. "Uh, you sick, man?" Raijin asked.

"No…"

More alarm. "SURE?"

"I'm not sick, for fuck's sake," Seifer snapped.

Silence. So, uh, you done that assignment yet? Cos if you don't give it to Instructor Trepe soon, she's gonna have your head."

Having heard 'Instructor Trepe', 'give' and 'head' in the same sentence, Seifer's head snapped up so fast it was a wonder his head didn't snap. "What?!"

Even Fujin blinked at the force in his voice. "ESSAY. TOMORROW," she reminded him.

"Oh, right, yeah…." Another paused while it sunk into his brain. "Shit, I've still got to do that." He grabbed an apple from the tray and got up, walking toward the library. He paused at the entrance, realising just how much he _hated _the library. Heaving a sigh, he decided that at least it would help him get a certain Instructor out of his head. Ten minutes later, he had all the relevant books, and was still thinking about porcelain skin and silky golden hair and lust-hazed sapphire eyes.

A couple of whispering cadets rushed past him, hurrying over to someone. He was tempted to chuck them into detention for disturbing the quiet. He could be concentrating, dammit. Then he started listening to what they were saying. "Shhh! She's over there!"

A giggle, then a soft gasp. "Oh, she's so amazing. She looks so smart!"

His stomach flipped. That was the unmistakable tone of a Trepie. That meant that _she _couldn't be far away.

Looking up from the pages, he spotted a flash of blonde over by the weapons section. He slammed the book shut, determined that he'd finish this right now. Find out why the hell she thought she could give _him _detention. He was the head of the Disciplinary Committee for Hyne's sake. He stormed over to her, causing several Trepies to squeak with fright and exit the library rather rapidly, and plucked the book from her hands.

She looked up calmly. "Can I help you with something?"

"What the hell, Quistis?" he demanded.

"This is a library, Seifer, try to keep your voice down."

"You gave me detention," he growled, more quietly despite himself.

"You were late," she replied smoothly.

"You only did it because you wanted me alone and we're sleeping together!"

"Are we? I seem to remember we _slept _together. There was no talk of repeating it," she said, surveying him coolly from behind her glasses. "Is that all you wanted to say?"

"No!" Then he couldn't think of any way to say that he wanted to do it again without making himself look bad.

Quistis was still waiting for his reply. She arched an eyebrow at his death-glare, then walked away. "You can help me carry these back to my room, I need them for tomorrow's class." She scooped up half a dozen books and walked from the library.

Seifer spent about a minute muttering and thinking up unpleasant was he could kill her, then followed. When he got to the room, he found Quistis sitting on her desk, in the pose that she knew drove him crazy. She smiled at his dumbstruck expression, then slowly reached up and let her hair tumble down from tight style she normally kept it in. His legs strode to her without his consent. She stood up just as they met, bodies rubbing together as their mouths met. There was a small crash as all her belongings fell to the floor as Seifer cleared her desk.

"Hyne we're not…" She gasped as several of her blouse buttons got ripped open and he massaged her breasts. "I suppose….we are…" Suddenly she stopped, pushed Seifer off and running to the door.

"Wha-" he panted. His question was answered when she shut the door. "Oh." He grinned. "I thought for a second-"

She smirked and walked to him, unzipping his vest and throwing it to the floor. "Did you really think I wouldn't want another taste?"

He grinned and pulled her to him as her hands ran greedily over her torso. The next few hours were spent in a haze of lust and hard, urgent movements on her desk, up against the walls, on almost every workstation, on the floor – pretty much everywhere they could think of. By the time Seifer's watch beeped 1 am, Quistis was pressed between Seifer and the wall, arms held above her head and her whole body trembling, coming down from her umpteenth orgasm of the evening. Seifer wasn't in a much better state, sweat beading all over his muscular chest and arms, small wounds from Quistis's nails and teeth on his shoulders and neck. Her long legs were wrapped around his hips while his arms held her waist. His head lay in the hollow of her neck, rising and falling with her panting breath.

"Oh holy Hyne," she breathed finally.

He chuckled. "Seifer will do."

She rolled her eyes, but didn't say anything; the blissful smile remaining on her face. "We should go…"

He nodded finally, kissing her firmly. "Alright."

They dressed quickly facing away from each other, somehow embarrassed despite fucking each other for hours. "Well, um…night, then, I guess," he said finally.

She gave a plastic smile. "Goodnight, Seifer."

He shook his head and walked out of the room. Quistis sighed, denying that the corners of her mouth were turning down because Seifer was gone. He was just a way to get laid, that's all. Didn't mean anything to her. _Right? _

She stayed sitting on the edge of her desk, biting her lip. She looked up again as the door opened, and Seifer came back in. He strode to her, putting one hand on the back of her neck and wrapping her in a crushing embrace and pressing a hard kiss on her lips. She did smile then; a real, genuine smile that took his breath away. "What was that for?"

He shrugged. "Because you're beautiful. Night, Quis."

She took in another deep breath full of his dizzyingly intoxicating scent, then let go. "Night."

This time, when he'd gone, the smile didn't go away. It stayed on her face until she was lying in bed trying and failing to fall asleep. Her last thought, as slumber finally claimed her, was the look on his face when he told her she was beautiful.

A/N: No real lemon here, but they're tiring to write, somehow. So there you go, I cheated. But hopefully you liked it anyway XD


	5. Danger at Halloween

**Chapter Five**

Quistis spent the next few weeks being two different people, like some kind of twisted superhero. During the day she was Instructor Trepe, the hard-assed, tight-lipped, ice-queen bitch that everyone in Garden worshipped. She didn't take crap from anybody, and she remained in total control of everything around her. She planned it all with military precision to ensure that nothing in her tidy little world could surprise her. If anything, things had gotten _more _organised than they were before. She had make up for the chaos that replaced the organisation at night. At night she was _Quistis_, a woman who became a creature bound to her senses, chained to the pleasure and the rush that she got from being in his arms. Nothing was ever planned, nothing was organised – instead things just escalated until she wasn't Instructor Trepe anymore, she didn't have any form except that which he wanted her to take. And while during the day she answered to no-one but herself, once darkness fell she was totally and completely his. Every evening, she swore that she wouldn't go to Seifer, that the night before, and the one before that, and before that – they'd all been mistakes that she wasn't going to repeat. 

Except she did. And once she opened her mouth to tell him that it was over, instead all that came out was 'Come inside'. And all it took was the look in his eyes, or the way his face lit up for a fraction of a second when he walked into class in the mornings. As soon as anyone else noticed, however, the scowl was back and fixed in place all day, until they were together again and she could kiss it away once more. 

---

It was Halloween, and six weeks since that first night. Much to her chagrin, Quistis was being dragged out to a costume party by Xu in a club in Balamb, when all she wanted to do was…well, exactly what she'd been doing for the past six weeks. But no, her logic and her friend had convinced her. She needed to get away from Seifer and the way he intoxicated her. She would not be a slave to his pleasures, dammit. She refused. So she was going to go out, remind herself that there were other men in the world, and that she owed Seifer nothing. Besides, it was just sex. He knew that, and she knew it. There was absolutely nothing there beyond the sins of the flesh. 

Currently, she was standing in from of the mirror in her dorm, looking dubiously at her clothes – or lack thereof. "Xu, I'm not sure about this…" she said, examining her reflection in the mirror. Rather than the white sheet that she's assumed she'd be wearing, Xu had somehow managed to persuade her to wear this ridiculous cat suit. It was a skin-tight, patent-leather, figure-hugging, cleavage-pushing, ludicrously revealing piece of material that made her look, in her opinion, like some kind of prostitute. The tail and the small mask that covered the top part of her face completed the look. "I look ridiculous." 

Xu, dressed as a witch, came out of the bathroom. "You look fine. You've got a killer body, Quis, show it off." She picked up her hat from the couch and swept Quistis out of the room. 

They got to the club about ten minutes later, and it was packed. The smoke and heat from about three hundred people immediately hit Quistis like a physical blow, and she realised just how uncomfortable this costume was. The good thing was that everybody was wearing costumes, so it hardly mattered about hers. But she didn't feel any less uncomfortable when every male in the room turned to stare at her. She turned to her friend. "I _told _you I'd look stupid." 

Xu tutted. "Quistis, they're all drooling over you. Come on, let's get a drink." The two women walked to the bar, where Xu forced a rather heavy cocktail into her hand despite Quistis's protests and then sauntered off when she spotted someone she knew. 

Quistis rolled her eyes. "I knew this was a mistake," she sighed, finishing her drink fairly quickly, feeling that if she was going to be alone, she may as well get drunk too. She fended off the advances of about half a dozen unattractive guys, continually looking at her watch to see if she could go home yet. At about midnight, she decided that yes she could, and got up to go, about half a drink still left in her hand. On the way out of the door, someone grabbed hold of her wrist; she faced him to see one of the guys she'd told to politely fuck off. 

"Come on, baby. Gimme another chance." 

It didn't help him any that he was speaking to her breasts. She took her arm out of his grip. "I don't think so." 

It turned out that the guy wasn't the brightest spark in Gaia, and put his hands on her hips, dragging her back to him. "I _wasn't _asking," he slurred, the alcohol on his breath moving over her in roils. 

Quistis sighed, rolled her eyes and demonstrated exactly _why _she was the youngest person ever to make SeeD. A quick flick of her wrist, a couple of sharp jabs with her elbows, two very hard punches and one knee in the groin, all within the space of five seconds, left the guy lying on the floor groaning in pain, Quistis standing above him perfectly calmly, not even out of breath. 

"_Miaow_…" The voice in her ear was low and dark and dripping in sexiness. As strong arms encircled her waist, she felt a shudder of desire run through her. She turned to face Seifer, dressed in a chain-mail shirt and black leather pants that clung to his perfectly-sculpted ass, showing it off for all the world to see. And for Quistis to get ridiculously hot and so turned on it was untrue. His eyes, half hidden behind a black mask, travelled slowly up and down her body. She blushed, already feeling naked beneath his gaze; it hardly mattered, since she was right, and he was mentally undressing her. Strange as it was, being masked gave her an incredible sense of freedom; no-one knew who she was, no-one knew what lay under the mask. She put her arms around his neck, and pulled him down for a deep, passionate kiss with more fire in it, so much so that it bruised both of their lips, but he reciprocated with just as much fervour, pressing his body up against hers. Her sensitive breasts crashed into his rock hard chest, her nipples so hard that he felt them grazing against him through both their clothes. She pulled away after thoroughly tasting his mouth, breathing hard. 

He grinned. "Now that's what I call a hello." 

She laughed in an embarrassed sort of way. "Couldn't resist."

"Well, I can't really blame you. I am hot," he smirked. 

She hit him playfully. "Dance with me." She pulled him onto the dance floor and ground her body against him to the melody of the song, driving him crazy with the slow gyrations of her shape against his body **(A/N: If you have Christina Aguilera's – **_**Get Mine Get Yours**_**, then now is the time to play it)**. Despite the quick beat of the song, they moved to their own rhythm, totally lost in the movements of the other. Every now and then, he'd lean down to capture her lips once more, nipping at them softly while his hands roamed all over her body. Once the song was over, she put her lips to his ear. "I'll be right back," she said huskily, before biting his earlobe quickly and slipping through the crowd to the ladies' room. 

---

Seifer watched her go in a daze. _What the hell is that woman doing to me? _he thought bemusedly. Every time he thought that he'd got it under control, he'd see her or hear her voice or- _Argh! _The image of her kept popping into his mind at the most odd moments, like when he was drifting off to sleep, or in the shower, or in the training centre, or…all the time. He fantasised about her so often that it was getting hard to tell the difference between the reality and the fantasy, and it didn't really matter anyway, since lately his fantasy seemed to be giving Quistis the pleasure that her lithe form deserved. He sought her out like rabid dog, endlessly, relentlessly craving her scent and the softness of her hair and the silky feel of her slender limbs. He'd sit there in her classes _hating _her, boiling over with resentment toward her. No one controlled him. No one. He was the best, for Hyne's sake. He won at everything he did. So why did he get the feeling that he was losing this particular battle – that he'd lost it before he'd begun fighting? 

A hand landing on his shoulder snapped him out with a jolt. "Hey man, did you hear me?" 

He turned around and focused on Raijin. "Huh?" 

"Are you ready to go?" his friend repeated. 

"Uh, no, you go ahead. I'm going to stay for a bit. Not tired yet." 

"Uh-huh. Nothing to do with the blonde chick then?" 

Seifer shrugged, an easy smirk flitting across his face. "You know me." 

"'Bout time, man!" Raijin came out with, shocking Seifer completely. "Thought the Instructor Trepe thing had knocked ya back!"

Seifer, taking a sip of his beer, choked on it. "What!" 

"You know…because you lost the bet." 

"Oh, yeah. Anyway, get out, I'm gonna score," he replied, grinning. 

Another pat on the back and another laugh, then Raijin left, leaving Seifer to breathe a sigh of relief and turn his attention back to Quistis. 

Who was getting chatted up by some random guy on the way back from the bathroom. Seifer's blood boiled. It didn't help that Quistis kept _touching _him, patting him on the arm and smiling flirtatiously. It wasn't just jealously that burned within him – it actually hurt to see her bestow that radiant smile on someone else. He ached at the fact that there was someone else in the world who could win that smile. The guy – who looked unsettlingly like a certain Squall Leonheart – flashed a much too wide and white grin and then – _That's it, I'm killing this guy right now _– he had the sheer nerve to put an arm around her shoulders and steer her toward the bar. If he'd been in a rational frame of mind, Seifer probably would have noticed that fact that Quistis was shaking her head. He wasn't thinking rationally. He wasn't thinking at all. No, this was a much more primal caveman instinct to make that fucker, whoever he was, get his paws off of Seifer's girl, and make sure that every other son-of-a-bitch in Balamb knew that _no-one _touched her again, because she belonged to him, and anyone who did think they could get away with it would be reconsidering rather quickly, having woken up in rather tiny pieces the following morning. 

He stormed over, paying no heed to the crowd filling the club and parting the people like an angry pitbull. By the time he got there, Quistis was already walking away from the man, grinning. Her smile faltered a little bit at the expression on his face, and she pushed her mask up a little to show her concerned blue eyes. "Seifer are you ok-"

He grabbed her upper arm hard enough to hurt. "What the hell are you doing?"

She snatched her arm back. "What are talking about?" 

"You flirting your ass off with that guy! Shit, Trepe, are you that sex-crazed that you have to try and fuck every guy you see!" 

For the second time in his life, Seifer Almasy found himself being slapped hard enough to make his eyes water by Quistis Trepe. "For your information, Oliver happens to be a friend of mine, and he's gay anyway!"

"Well sure he'd tell _you _that," Seifer retorted.

"What the hell do you want from me, huh?" she hissed above the music. 

"I just don't want you _throwing _yourself at-" 

"-at who?" she demanded. "Seifer, you are not my boyfriend! If this is sex, then fine, but don't take it further! Either you want me, or you don't. Make up your fucking mind." With that, she stalked out of the club, leaving him trembling with anger in her wake. 

_I am so not having this._ Did she think she could just walk away from _him_ like that? No fucking chance. The thought that he'd probably blown it completely with Quistis caused the spark of panic inside him to grow until it became an inferno, but he couldn't for the life of him work out why he was so fussed. She was a piece of ass, right? _Right. _And there was no shortage of women here, right? _Right. _So why didn't he just pick up one of the girls here? He could see at least four scantily clad women eyeing him from here. There were another couple of blonde ones he could see looked quite attractive. One that looked a little like-

"Hyne _dammit_!" 

---

Within fifteen minutes he was storming through the corridors of Garden, still muttering about women and Quistis and everything else under the sun. Coming to her room, he took a deep breath as he realised that to get her back – not that she meant anything to him whatsoever – he was going to have to do the thing he'd never done in his life, and apologise. He raised his hand to knock on the door, then scoffed. "_So _not worth it," he spat, turning on his heel and striding back to his own dorm. He slammed the door behind him so hard that the entire doorframe shook, then dropped down onto his bed. "Bitch." _I'm a fool. _

He stood up and took his clothes off, storming over to the bathroom and the shower. Turning the hot water on, he just stood there for a while, the spray pouring down over his body, plastering his hair flat and running in rivulets down his body. It didn't ease the tension pooling in his gut, or the coiled up feeling in his muscles. There was only one thing that could. And he'd be damned if he let her know just how badly he wanted her right now. He wanted her with every second that passed, he wanted her there when he went to sleep at night, he wanted her there when he woke up in the morning. She was turning him into some kind of lovesick _kid_, and he didn't even care. There wasn't one logical explanation for it. Not one. He'd lost the bet, and past that there shouldn't have been anything. He shouldn't even have slept with her once. Let alone conducting this…affair for the past several weeks. The past few times it had happened, he'd woken up in the middle of the night with Quistis somehow in his arms and just watched her sleep for a while. He didn't think anything while he was watching her – it was like some kind of blissful coma where there wasn't thought or rank or even identity. 

He turned the shower off and stood against the cold tiles for a while, shaking his head at himself. _What has this turned into? _He was always so certain about everything. And with her…nothing was certain, nothing was fixed, except for one, terrifyingly clear fact: he wanted her. Not just sexually, he wanted her to be his, to claim her for his own. To have her reciprocate that. _Make up your fucking mind_, she'd said. 

A few moments later when he was dressed, not bothering to dry himself and the clothes clinging to his damp skin, he was stalking back along the corridors toward her dorm. He didn't bother with knocking, and it looked like she was expecting him anyway, since the door wasn't locked. And Quistis _always _locked the door. He pushed it open cautiously to find her sitting on her bed, her hair loose about her shoulders her cat-suit gone, instead wrapped in a light blue robe. She looked at him with a myriad of things swirling in her azure eyes and stood up, crossing the room to stand in front of him. 

"Well?" she asked. Her voice betrayed nothing. 

"I made up my mind," he replied softly, before his lips descended to hers. Then he pulled away a few seconds later to speak. "I want you, Quis. Really, I mean. But I'm not a good man. And one day I will leave and we probably won't ever see each other again. You need to know that we don't have a future."

She simply looked at him. "I understand. But we've never had a future, Seifer. People like us don't need one." 

He didn't say anything more, simply kissed her again while her hands worked on pulling the damp shirt from his skin as his fingers fumbled at the belt of her robe. Once his fingers hit her supple skin, he couldn't hold back a moan that has nothing to do with her nails lightly scraping down the muscles of his back. Seifer Almasy had never made love before. He'd had more sex in the two years since his first time than most men had in their entire lives. But that had always been about what he could get from them, what pleasure _he _could take. 

It wasn't tonight. Tonight was about the slow sharing of pleasure between them, exploring every inch of her body until he knew it better than he knew his own. About showing her just how high her spirit could soar, just how intense this feeling could get. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her to the bed, then gently laid her down on it. Her arms around his shoulders, she drew him down with her, opening herself to him. Her mouth found his in a slow, deep kiss as his hands stroked every inch of her curves. She moaned as his fingers. "Seifer…" There was no reason to say his name, but it brought a shiver of pleasure anyway. He held her hips and entered her slowly, and Quistis arched her back, feeling every inch of his hard heat slide into her with tormenting slowness. She turned them and pulled him up into a sitting position, then drove then wound the coil of pleasure tighter while his hands skilfully stroked her breasts. Suddenly the rising tide of pleasure reached a peak, then didn't stop, but carried on pushing higher and higher until she couldn't consciously move or speak, and she wasn't aware of anything apart from the pair of emerald eyes locked with hers, darkened with some emotion that she couldn't name, and from the half-exhilarated, half-terrified feeling that filled her, she wasn't so sure she wanted to. As the zenith of her climax pierced her soul, she leaned forward to claim his lips with her own, feeling his release deep inside her. 

He collapsed back onto her head, and she fell on top of his chest, feeling their heart pounding in urgent synchrony. She planted a few tiny kisses on his sweat-streaked body, then relaxed into the rhythm of his breathing.

"This is dangerous, you know," she said after a while. 

"What about it?" 

"Everything."

He frowned and ran a finger over her skin. "Are you regretting it?" 

She rolled onto her side and sighed. His heart sank, followed by anger. This was why he always left after sex. Because no-one really wanted him around any longer. He was just a piece of trash to them. Always had been. Then Quistis reached out and lifted his gaze back to hers. "How could I regret you?"

"I thought you said it was dangerous," he said.

"It is. But worth it," she replied, smiling. He leaned forward and kissed her softly, no demand or power, just affection. She responded in kind, and for a while they just lay there, pouring gratitude and warmth into each other. Two broken people slowly being healed by each other. Neither Seifer nor Quistis knew what was happening, or just how good they were for each other. Every time she left, or he did, both felt stained with shame and arousal, yet at the same time buoyed up by some indefinable feeling of elation. Both felt naked under the gaze of the other, all the acts and pretence stripped away. In this moment, they were just them. Nothing else was needed. 

"Stay," she said at some point, when the moon was in its way down the sky.

"You know I won't," he replied, brushing an errant hair from her face. 

"I know. But I can still ask," she said quietly.

He kissed her again, drawing her into his arms. "I'll stay until you fall asleep."

She smiled, and he tried to pretend he didn't the sadness in it. Or, more importantly, didn't care even if she was sad. It didn't matter to him. It didn't make him want to make sure she never wore that expression again. "Like always."

She put her head in the crook of his shoulder and one arm over his body, and seemed to fall deeply asleep within a few moments. He didn't leave. Not for hours he didn't, because the sound of Quistis just _breathing_ was the most soothing lullaby anyone could have ever produced. _Damn it, I am not feeling this! _he yelled at himself. _Be rational about it. _Except rationally, only very bad things could come of this. Quistis would lose her job, she might be kicked out of Garden, he'd probably never see her again-

_Wait, what! Why the hell am I coming up with bad things for _her_? What about me! Shit, if they find out about this I'll never make SeeD. This is my future for fuck's sake, and I'm worried about Quistis! _

He cast an angry glance at the sleeping woman in his arms, and felt his expression change once again. It was dangerous, she'd said. Now it looked as though he'd uncovered the most perilous thing of all. There wasn't supposed to be a danger. All the evidence had pointed toward there not being any danger. Danger for her, sure, but why the hell would he care about that? Unless…he'd started to care about _her_. 

He let of Quistis like her touch burned his skin, sudden fear coursing through his veins like ice. _Oh hell no! I am _not _falling for her. _Suddenly breathing heavily, he dressed as fast as he could then stood over her for a moment, seriously considering killing her for making him feel this way. She shifted suddenly, rolling onto her back. Her position meant that a shaft of moonlight illuminated her slender neck, and it stuck him how very vulnerable – how naked – she was. Self-disgust filled him. It was not for Quistis Trepe to die like this. She was a soldier, yet so much more than that, a _warrior_. No matter what kind of end this woman had, it would be glorious. It would not be at the hands of her petulant, prideful lover. 

He found himself doing another thing he'd never done before tonight, and never planned to do ever again. He planted a gentle kiss on her forehead. "I'm sorry," he said hoarsely. The words didn't make him feel like he thought they would. He didn't feel angry or resentful that he had to say it, because he hadn't been obligated to. It also helped that there was no-one around to hear it. 

Opening the door, he cast one last look at the sleeping Quistis, lying in bed, and tried to push the impulse to go back to her arms and her bed aside, snarling inwardly at his complete failure. There could no longer be any denying it now – the woman was under his skin. And he knew she wouldn't be coming out any time soon. 


	6. Women

**Chapter Six**

When the morning sunlight hit her face, Quistis stirred and gave a languid stretch before throwing her arm out to the left of her. To discover that there was a cold, empty patch where Seifer should have been. The smile faded from her face as she sighed. She wasn't sure what had happened last night, but _something _– and she'd give her right arm to know what – had changed in him. Not that she was complaining about the intense, hard, meaningless sex, but last night…last night was _different. _He had been tender, and almost reverent in worshipping her body. She'd felt like she was sacred to him. There'd been a fire in his green eyes that burnt straight through to her soul. He was so…she didn't want to use the word 'loving', but it was true. But did that mean he loved her? No, that couldn't be right, he'd said last night…

She sighed again and rubbed her face. What kind of game did he think he was playing? _Was _he playing a game? Was _she _playing a game? She was supposed to be. This whole thing was supposed to be. If she could be certain of nothing else – and she couldn't – then it was that this had gone far beyond simple amusement. She let out a growl of frustration and rolled out of bed. "Damn you, Seifer!"

It was a Saturday, so she didn't have classes. All she had were about thirty million term papers to grade. Her phone rang, and she picked it up. "Instructor Trepe here."

"Hey, Quis, it's Xu. The Headmaster wants to see you in his office in half an hour. So get your ass out of bed."

Quistis smiled. "I happen to be up already."

"Ok, see you soon."

"See you."

When she arrived, promptly and in her pressed uniform thirty minutes later, at the headmaster's office, she was shown in straight away. "Ah, Instructor Trepe, sit down," Cid smiled.

She sat. "What is it you wanted to see me about, sir?"

"Simply to tell you that as you know the exams are coming up in about a month and I've decided on Dollet. It's been-"

"-occupied by Galbadian forces, I know," Quistis nodded. "It'll be a good test. What will be the mission?"

"Simply to push out the Galbadians. Well, not all of them, but a certain number anyway."

Quistis frowned quizzically. "Sir, may I ask why you're telling me this privately? Surely there is a faculty meeting at the end of the week?"

Cid smiled his patient smile again. "Yes, but I'm particularly interested that one of your students passes this exam."

Quistis closed her eyes for the briefest of moments. "Seifer."

Cid nodded. "Yes. I realise that Seifer is somewhat…beyond the control of discipline."

Quistis caught herself smiling. _What the hell is going on?!_ A few weeks ago that had frustrated and angered her beyond belief. Now his rebellious, untameable nature was just one of the million things she loved about him. He was so…she didn't even have words. There weren't any that were adequate.

"Quistis?" Cid's voice broke through the reverie.

She woke up. "Huh?"

"Are you alright?" he asked her worriedly.

"Yes, I'm fine. I apologise, Headmaster." She swallowed. "What were you saying about Seifer?"

"Just that I think you should make sure he's ready for the exam. Obviously that goes for all your students, but with Seifer I think it is particularly important that he _finally _grasps the fact that he will, as a SeeD, have to obey orders. Perhaps it may be a good idea for you to have a few after-hours sessions with Seifer in the next few weeks."

Quistis's jaw dropped. It seemed too perfect to be true. Was this the Headmaster giving her a legitimate reason to be alone with Seifer? Perhaps it was a test. Maybe someone knew and Cid was trying to find out. She cleared her throat. "Sir, perhaps I'm not the best one to be doing that, I mean Seifer was in my class for his last exam, and I apparently wasn't able to get him to pass it then, so-"

"Nonsense, Quistis, you are his Instructor and as such he must recognise the fact that you hold the leadership role."

_Correct in principle_, Quistis thought. _Except I don't lead Seifer in anything. It's impossible to win with him. _Nevertheless, she nodded anyway. "I'll do it, sir."

Cid smiled. "Thank you, Quistis. That's all."

Quistis nodded. "Very well, Headmaster."

"Dismissed."

She saluted and left, walking to Xu's desk. "What did he want?" her friend asked.

"To ask me to have one-on-one sessions with one of my students in preparation for the exam in a few weeks."

"Let me guess," Xu said, leaning back in her chair. "Alm_ass_y."

Quistis cast her friend a look. "Yes, Seifer."

"Good luck with that."

Quistis smiled. "I'm sure I'll be fine."

Xu narrowed her eyes. "What's that smile for?"

"Oh no reason," Quistis blinked innocently. "You working overtime?"

Xu nodded glumly. "Yeah. But I'm almost finished."

"Great, you want to go into Balamb? I need to get away from Garden now or I'll go mad."

"We went out last night!"

"No, 'we' lasted about ten minutes and then you buggered off to hook up with some guy!" Quistis protested. Then she raised her eyebrow. "Was he any good?"

"Quistis!" Xu looked shocked. "Since when have you been so open about sex?"

She shrugged. "I'm allowed to have my fun aren't I?"

"I knew it! I knew there was a good reason you were in a good mood today. Quistis got some!"

"Xu! I really don't think this is appropriate conversation. Especially with the Headmaster in the other room!" she hissed. Then giggled. "Come on, let's go grab some lunch."

"Right."

A couple of hours later, Quistis, while glad of her friend's company, was utterly bored with shopping. She wanted nothing more right now than to go back to Garden and sleep. It wasn't as though she'd gotten a lot the night before. Unfortunately Xu wasn't finished picking out a dress for the upcoming graduation ball. "You are _supposed _to wear your uniform," Quistis reminded her.

"Yeah, yeah. When am I ever going to wear another dress like this? You should try one on."

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because it's a frivolous waste of money."

"You won't be saying that if it gets your mystery guy back into bed."

"I doubt I'll have any trouble getting Seifer back in bed," she muttered.

"What was that, Quis?"

"Nothing! Actually I do need some new battle gear…" She looked over at Xu. "I'm just going to pop across to the store across the street. Meet you in the café in about half an hour?"

Xu smiled and nodded. "Sure. Have fun."

Quistis made her way into the clothing store that, to her mind, was actually worth spending money in, since it sold clothes that were actually of some use. Her old battle gear – consisting of a blue tank top and darker blue combat pants – was badly ripped and torn, as well as being three years old. She wasn't sure blue suited her much anyway. Maybe pink. But no, pink was too girly. She walked around the racks of clothes for a while, not really seeing anything she liked. It wasn't until she looked on the mannequins in the window that she found anything she liked – a peach coloured vest with detachable sleeves and a matching skirt. Combined with her boots and maybe some pants underneath it wouldn't look too bad. She'd need a belt to hang her whip on, but other than that it looked perfect.

"Excuse me," she said to the shop assistant. "Can I have a look at that outfit please?"

"Certainly, ma'am."

Quistis barely managed to restrain a groan at that word. She hated people calling her 'ma'am'. It just made her feel old. At eighteen it wasn't something that anyone would like. Another reason why she loved being around Seifer. He made her feel her age. Like she was young and free. She wasn't a 'ma'am' with him. She sighed as she took the clothes from the woman and headed to the fitting rooms. A few moments later, the clothes were on, and they fit perfectly. She zipped the vest up to her chin and sighed at her reflection. It was all very well and good, but she looked like nun. She stood there for a while, debating whether or not to buy it or not. She decided to call Xu and get a second opinion, but didn't have any signal on her cell in the fitting rooms, so went outside for a moment. She rang the number, but Xu didn't pick up. Sighing, she headed back to the fitting room.

She slid back the curtain and gasped in shock. "What are you-"

Seifer grabbed her wrist and dragged her inside, whisking the curtain back across with a finger to her lips. "Whisper."

She batted his hand away. "How did you know I was here?"

"I saw you come in."

She continued to glower. "And why are you here?"

He only smirked. "What's the matter, Instructor? Aren't you happy to see me?"

_I would have been more pleased to see you this morning_, she found herself thinking. Instead of saying it, she just crossed her arms, as the angry was easier to maintain than allowing him to see her vulnerability. "What do you want, Seifer?"

Ignoring this, he gave her a long look, allowing his eyes to travel lazily up and down her body, appreciating the fact that the clingy material of the clothes clung to her curves. "Not bad, Quistis. Although... " He grinned, then leaned forward and made two quick movements. The top split after he moved his fingers away – the zip went from under her chin to showing off her cleavage a little, and the bottom was left open, showing her flat stomach, toned from years of SeeD training. Seifer admired his handiwork. "Much better."

"Did you come just to undress me?" she demanded.

He shrugged. "No, but doesn't sound like such a bad idea now you mention it."

He leaned in to place a had kiss on her lips, but she pushed him away, still unreasonably angry. "Not happening here."

"Back at Garden, then?"

"No!" she spat. "I don't- We're not- It isn't-"

"You going to be finishing this sentence at any point?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Fuck off, Seifer."

"What is the matter with you?" he snapped, losing patience. "I've never known anyone get _more _moody after sex!"

Totally the wrong thing to say. Quistis placed both hands on his chest and pushed him forcibly out of the fitting room. "Get out."

He stared at her, utterly confused. "Quistis, what-"

His only answer was the certain being flung across again. Heaving a sigh, he decided to wait outside the shop for Quistis. "_Women_."

Inside still, Quistis gave a sigh of her own. "What am I _doing_?" She looked at her reflection, noting with annoyance that what Seifer had done had improved the outfit quite a lot. She changed quickly and went to pay for her new clothes. _Two thousand Gil for clothes_, she thought, raising her eyebrows at the price. When she came out, she went and stood next to Seifer without saying anything for a while. "Sorry," she said after a while.

He turned to her, arms folded over his broad chest. "You going to tell me what's going on?"

She shrugged. "I just...I don't know. It's just..."

"You want to go for a walk?" he asked.

She looked up at the sky, heavy with rain about to break. "It's the first of November. _And _it's going to rain."

He grinned. "What, you never took a walk in the rain before?"

"Well...no, actually."

"Then maybe you should."

"But I'm supposed to meet Xu in-"

He took her cell phone right out of her hand and put it into his pocket. "Unfortunately you seem to have lost your phone."

She shook her head but couldn't stop the exasperated grin from crossing her face. "You're incorrigible, you know that?"

"You wouldn't love me any other way," he drawled, slinging an arm around her shoulders.

She shoved him off. "Well that's too bad, since I don't love you this way either." The words sounded strangely hollow. She sighed. "Come on. Where did you want to go?"

They just walked for a while until Seifer thought they were far enough out of Balamb that it wouldn't matter, then surprised Quistis by taking her hand. She blushed furiously but didn't say anything.

"The Headmaster called me into his office today for a private word," she told him.

He looked up, alarm in his eyes. "He doesn't know, does he?"

She smiled and shook her head in negation. "That was my first thought as well, but no. Almost the opposite, in fact. He wants me to spend more time alone with you."

"_More_? You're lucky I'm such a stud, Trepe, or I'd get exhausted from your voracious sexual appetite."

She laughed. "Well, if you get tired, you can just lie there while I rape you."

He frowned. "Hang on, if Cid doesn't know, then why does he-"

"He wants me to tutor you privately. Apparently I have about a month to train you into following orders." A pause. "I thought about telling him exactly what I thought about those orders."

"Which is?"

"That I had a snowball's chance in hell of getting you to do anything you don't want to."

"I don't know about that..." He let his gaze travel lazily up and down her body. "Depends on the kind of orders you were giving. What exactly you wanted me to do."

She rolled her eyes. "_Anyway_, the exams are in a month, and there _are _some things you still need to do. Like go to the Fire Caverns, learn how to junction..."

"Hang on, I _know _how to junction, I've had Tiamat in my head since I was ten."

"Yes, but he was _put_ there by your first Instructor. As Shiva was with me. Can you remember ever learning to do it yourself?"

"...No. But then I don't remember a lot of stuff sometimes."

"Me neither. At least not before I came to Garden."

"Not even your parents?"

"Of course them, but..." She trailed off, shrugging. "We were never close anyway. I don't remember the last time I spoke to them. What about your parents?"

"Never knew them," he shrugged. "Orphan."

"Oh right, sorry, I forgot."

He raised an eyebrow. "How did you know in order to forget?"

"I...may have sneaked a look at your personal file."

"_That's_ unethical," he said, smirking.

"So is sleeping with my student, but I'm still doing that aren't I?"

He chuckled. "To think I corrupted the Garden's child prodigy. I'm such a bad influence."

"I thought we'd had this discussion. I can be bad all on my own thank you very much." She sounded so sweetly indignant that Seifer had to stop and kiss her.

The rain came slowly at first; occasional heavy drops that splashed onto her hair. She giggled as a raindrop landed on the tip of his nose. More and more rain fell until the air was thick with it, and their clothes were plastered to their bodies. After a while she turned to him.

"And what exactly is so appealing about this?"

"You don't like it?"

"I'm cold and I'm extremely wet, and I should imagine I look a lot like a drowned rat."

He smiled and drew her close to him, kissing her deeply. "A beautiful rat."

Her blush got deeper, and she ran over to a small copse that might provide some shelter from the rain. It was much drier underneath one of the trees, it's thick canopy of leaves creating a picture that could have been taken from a fairytale. She turned to her lover, their lips uniting in heated passion, moving her hands up to grip his biceps, her nails pressing into his skin even through his coat. "Make love to me," she whispered as her cold wet lips met his warm ones again.

In another time, in another place, with another girl, he might have stopped then, might have reminded her that it was just sex and that she was nothing beyond a piece of ass. But not now. Not here. And not Quistis. His hands migrated slowly over her body, slowly caressing every inch of skin as more was revealed with every piece of clothing, painstakingly peeled off. There was something so primal about being outside in the rain, about the feel of the velvet-soft grass against her back while she embraced Seifer's hot weight above her. Despite this, it wasn't hard, or rushed or clumsy. Their movements were slow and their gazes stayed locked together. The bower of branches and trees around them could have been the Garden of Eden, and they the only two people in existence. It didn't matter that it was raining, or that it was cold outside in the real world. This wasn't the real world. This was a private universe of bliss created for them.

Suddenly Quistis stopped moaning and opened her eyes. Disturbed by the sudden lack of sound, Seifer looked at her worriedly. "What is it?"

A warm smile slowly illuminated her face. "This." She moved her head upward and kissed him again, slipping quickly back into the sinful rhythm. She wasn't entirely sure why she'd stopped. Only that she needed to look at just how beautiful he was. It wasn't until the tide of pleasure coursing through her swallowed her senses and opened the dark recesses of her mind and spirit completely that the white flare of bliss lit up something she'd been too blind to see before. At the height of her climax, while her nails were biting into his shoulders and his lips were grazing all over her neck, and she was calling his name in wild desperation, it hit her. Something hard and bright and unshakable. Something she knew would be embedded in her soul forever. Something that shocked her completely.

Seifer released inside her, groaning her name against her skin. He let his head rest for a moment on her chest while they both tried to remember how to breathe. Quistis was trembling wildly. Simultaneously, she had two thoughts:

_This is a disaster._

_This is wonderful._

They were both eclipsed absolutely by the third thought. Quistis tangled her fingers in his hair to keep his face pressed to her skin so he would not see the single euphoric tear running down her face. _I love him._

A/N: So there you have it, at least one of them's finally got it. Not sure if it worked though the way she realised. Let me know & review!


	7. I Did NOT Just Think That!

**Chapter Seven**

_Quistis is lying on top of Seifer, giggling in between landing kisses and gentle bites on his neck and chest while his fingers are busy burying themselves in her hair. Her fingers tickle his sides lightly until she gets to his belly button and draws slow circles around it with the tip of her finger. Seifer groans out her name as her hands dip lower. _

"_Kitten, I'm trying to _tell _you something, you can't- Oh my Hyne..." _

_Then he rolls over and traps her arms above her head. "Would you _quit _it for a second, woman!" _

_She grins up at him. "What's the matter, baby? Don't you like it?" _

_He narrows his eyes at her, but can't quite seem to get annoyed. "Why can't I stay mad at you?" _

_She kisses him. "Because you love me?" _

"_Huh. You'd be in so much trouble right now if that wasn't true," he mutters before bringing his mouth to hers once more. He breaks away one more time to look at her. "I do lov-" _

"Gah!" Seifer shot up in bed, breathing heavily, his mouth extremely dry and completely turned on. "What the fuck?" he muttered. "Who am I, Puberty Boy? Haven't had a fucking wet dream in five fucking years, now I'm getting them when I don't even need to…"

There was another impatient knock at the door, and he remembered what had woken him up in the first place. Still muttering, he got up and staggered to the door, glancing irritably at the clock. Six fucking thirty. On a _Sunday_. More knocking. Whoever was on the other side of that door was in _serious _trouble. He undid the bolt and yanked it open, murder written in every line of his face. "_What?!_"

"And good morning to you too," Quistis said, one eye brow raised. She let her gaze travel slowly down his body, stopping with amusement on his groin. "And unless I'm much mistaken, you're _really _pleased to see me."

He returned her slow gaze, absorbing the sight of her flat stomach being shown off in her new battle gear. "How do you know I haven't got another girl in here?" he asked, quirking one eyebrow.

A tiny frown gathered between her eyebrows, then cleared as she gave a tinkling laugh. "Yeah, sure you do." She planted a firm palm on his chest and pushed him back into his room. "Well, what do you know? No other female present."

"That proves nothing," he protested. "Why are you here, anyway? To give me an early morning workout?"

She smiled seductively. "Actually...yes...But I haven't said good morning properly, have I?"

He grinned and slipped his hands around her waist, pulling her body up against his, leaning down to kiss her. She somehow managed to put her finger against his lips, grinning evilly. "So on that note...Good morning. And now you have to get dressed," she said, striding over to his cupboard and pulling out clothes.

Seifer was still stood gawping at her, so it wasn't until his coat hit his head that he woke up from his slightly stunned/ slightly angry coma. "What the hell, Quisits?" he eventually managed, his voice slightly muffled through the coat. He pulled it off, scowling at her.

"Well, I'm teaching you to junction, and then we're going to the Fire Caverns."

"Because..."

"Prep for your exam, now come on."

"Quistis, it's not even seven am yet. Can't this wait?"

"No." He didn't move, just folded his arms and glared. She straightened up and moved toward him gracefully. "I'll make it worth your while. I promise."

He narrowed his eyes. "You better."

"I will, now go shower."

"You want to join me?"

"Just go." She slapped him on the ass on his way to the bathroom.

"I still haven't forgiven you for waking me up at the crack of fucking dawn," he said as he turned the water on.

"Sure you have," she replied, leaning against the doorframe and lazily watching him strip.

He narrowed his eyes at her, but couldn't quite seem to get annoyed. "Why can't I stay mad at you?" Then he stopped suddenly, frowning. "Deja vu," he said quietly after a moment.

"About what, baby?"

He looked over at her. "'Baby'? Since when did you start calling me 'baby'?"

She shrugged. "I'm trying it out."

"Well don't. It's weird."

"You call me baby all the time."

"During sex doesn't count, I call everybody baby," he said dismissively. Then immediately realised he'd just made a catastrophic mistake.

She straightened, folding her arms. "'Everybody'. I see. Hurry up with your shower, Almasy." She closed the bathroom door and went to sit on his bed outside, burying her head in her hands. "You are so stupid, Quistis," she whispered fiercely to herself. "So, so _stupid_!" To her horror, angry tears began to fill her eyes; she dashed them away, now furious with herself. "What in Hyne's name am I doing? It's illegal, it's immoral, it's _definitely _going to break my heart, and I'm still-"

She cut herself off before she could utter the words, but they reverberated in her skull anyway: _I'm still hopelessly in love with him. Seifer's just too...hot. Wait, that didn't sound right even in my head._

He was fire. That was what he was. A blazing inferno that allowed itself sometimes to be controlled, but ready at a moment to set everything around it alight and reduce everything to ashes. He'd told her as much. But if being around him meant that she'd get burned, then so be it. Even one second with him was worth the price. Suddenly everything seemed stupidly clear, and she stood up, unzipping her top as she went toward the bathroom.

She was naked by the time she opened the door, the steamy air wafting out to reveal an oh-so-delicious, oh-so-wet Seifer standing under a scalding stream of water. He didn't say anything, when he saw her, just stretched out an arm to her, jade eyes burning. Some kind of mythical figure, beckoning her to a world where normal laws just didn't apply. That by now familiar feeling of transcendence came over her, and she fell in love with him all over again. She may as well have been as fixed as the water vapour that swirled around her. Within seconds, she was soaked, her hair darkened and plastered to her skin. Their lips met softly once, as he wrapped one strong arm around her waist, and took her hand with the other, slowly turning her round on the spot.

She giggled. "What are you doing?"

"Dancing," he grinned. "I thought that'd be obvious."

"I meant _why _are we dancing?"

"It doesn't matter. Not everything has to have a reason." He put his mouth to her ear, his lips grazing against the soft cartilage and sending a shiver of desire through her. "Let go, Quistis. Let it all go."

And she found herself doing just that. It was impossible to be around him and still retain the rigidity that got her through the day. It didn't matter that she hit her head a bit when his hands gripped her waist and lifted her up against the wet tiles. All that mattered in the entire world was in her arms with her legs hung loosely around his middle. She moaned as their bodies merged once again, whispering his name with each deep, tortuously slow thrust until it might have been the only sound in the world, for it was all she could hear, and if she went deaf at that moment, it wouldn't matter, because there wasn't a more sacred thing in the universe. But after the white flare had passed, she could hear her own name being reflected from the tiles as the explosion of pleasure passed into him. They slid down to the shower floor still intertwined, breathing heavily under the now-cool spray.

--

Seifer had heard of women going weak at the knees – hell he was fairly certain he was an expert at doing that by now – but it had never happened to him before. And now, here he was completely tongue-tied and weak-kneed and behaving like an utter _woman_. But when it was _this _woman...there was nothing that he wouldn't do, no distance he wouldn't run. Along with arrogance, pride was one of the two pillars that he used to keep himself upright. Now he found that it was futile. Thinking on it, there had never been this feeling before. The most passionate it had ever gotten was with Rinoa. He had actually liked her. For all of two months, anyway. And even then it had been a surface-thing. Maybe it was because she hadn't been a part of Garden, it was easier to just be a teenager. That's all it had really been – two teenagers having a summer fling, and nothing more extraordinary than that.

This wasn't. Even disregarding the fact that it wasn't summer. And while Quistis was trembling in his arms, trying to convince herself that she wasn't in paradise, Seifer was trying to organise his thoughts into some kind of logical order. It wasn't working. _Ok, be logical about this. 1) She's just some chick- completely not worth being a pussy over. 2) You're 18, you don't know what _that_ feeling is supposed to feel like. 3) This is going to get Trepe fired, and you kicked out of Garden 4)...I don't really have a four. _

The other part of his brain scoffed. _Is that it? I've spent years listening to Trepe lecture me about how a SeeD must keep a cool head, and three lousy arguments is the best I can come up with? Hyne that's pathetic. _

_Whatever. But now you have a problem. _

_I do? _

_Yup. Firstly: You're having an _insane _mental argument with yourself. And secondly: If you can't convince yourself that you're not falling for her, then that means you've already fallen in lo-_

_Stop that right there! _

Tiamat's irritated voice cut in. _**I quite agree. You're giving **_**me **_**a headache. I'll admit that the **__**golden female is – for a human – attractive in her way. But why humans engage in this pointless activity is quite beyond me. Especially when it causes the host to fall into this angst-ridden mess. I might seriously have to consider finding a new home, Seifer, if you don't pull yourself up. Possibly that Leonheart boy. **_**He **_**has potential-**_

_I don't fucking think so, Tiamat. You're staying right where you are. _

_**Then prove that you are worthy of having me here**_**, **the GF retorted.

Seifer sighed and ran one hand down the length of Quisits's back slowly. She lifted her head from his shoulder and kissed him, her tongue finding his and flicking against it gently. All thoughts of dragging himself up from whatever glorious quagmire he'd sunk into evaporated.

Tiamat sighed in his mind, then decided, apparently, to remind Seifer of what he was supposed to be doing. _**DO YOU OR DO YOU NOT WANT TO BECOME A SeeD?! **_

Seifer's mouth jerked away from Quistis's. "Did you mention something about the Fire Caverns?"

--

Five hours later, after drying and dressing had somehow turned into more sex, and then Seifer only half-paying attention to the junctioning thing, and then Quistis absolutely driving had somehow turned into her gripping the passenger seat so hard that her knuckles turned white while she screamed at Seifer to slow down, and then battling their way through countless monsters, they arrived at the back of the Fire Caverns, hot and sweaty and tired.

"Right," Quistis said, coiling her whip and hanging it on her belt once again. "We've almost finished-"

"Thank Hyne, I need a fucking shower," he muttered, still trying and failing to get Bomb guts off Hyperion's blade.

"_But_," she stressed, "it's not over yet. Now you have to face the wild GF Ifrit. If you can defeat him, you junction with him, understand?"

"Yep. One problem though. Tiamat doesn't share."

She frowned. "Are you telling me you let your GF dictate your actions?"

He shrugged. "No. But we have a deal. I only use one GF and he'll only junction with me. It's what you might call a partnership, Instructor."

"Ok, well whatever, you can unjunction Ifrit as soon as you've junctioned, the point of the exercise is to check that you've absorbed the information. Now, for the duration of the battle, I'll do what you tell me to do-"

He grinned. "Well, I've got a few ideas-"

"Within the parameters of a normal battle. No...kinky stuff."

"You said the word 'kinky', Instructor, not me."

She rolled her eyes. "Just get ready, Seifer. You have ten minutes to defeat Ifrit, and you may not use your own GF at any time."

There was a roar that shook back from the roof, and an enormous creature that seemed mostly to be made of fire leapt in front of them.

Quistis clicked a button on her watch. "Go."

The battle didn't last long – within six minutes it was obvious that the GF was struggling, and it wasn't really up to withstanding an assault from both a whip and a gunblade specialist. Especially not when one of its opponent was carrying Shiva.

Half way through the eighth minute, Ifrit lashed out, catching Quistis with one huge claw and knocking her to the ground, perilously close to a bubbling pit of lava. She wasn't badly hurt, but Seifer still saw red, and leapt at the GF, moving Hyperion in such gracefully quick and deadly movements that its silver flashes were unseen. By the time the ninth minute came, Ifrit held up a hand, signalling its defeat.

Seifer threw it one contemptuous look and turned to his lover. "You alright?"

She nodded, brushing off her clothes. "I'm fine." She looked at her watch. "One minute left, I'm impress-"

He didn't give her time to finish the sentence, instead wrapping her in a crushing embrace and kissing her more passionately than he ever had before, the hungry movements of his mouth saying the words that would never leave his lips. If their kisses had brought sparks before now, this was a supernova.

When he pulled away, Quistis could barely talk. All of a sudden, she remembered the stopwatch, and clicked it off with 00.00.02 on the display. "Point two of a second left," she announced.

"What?! There was at least a minute left on that, I was counting!"

"Yes, but a SeeD only ever relaxes once the enemy has been completely defeated. Had Ifrit been a human enemy he more than likely would have shot you while you were distracted. Therefore you completed the mission with point two of a second remaining. Don't worry, Seifer, you still passed. Come on, let's get out of here."

He followed her, still fuming inwardly. She took his hand almost shyly. He didn't pull away, but he didn't squeeze her fingers back either. "If it helps," she said, "I really like your celebration style."

"Hm. I need a fucking cigarette."

She nodded, pushing her hair away from her face. "Me too. And a shower." Noticing that he was still looking a bit sullen, she frowned. "A pass is still a pass, Seifer. You still did it within the time limit."

"Yeah, well no doubt your precious Puberty Boy will be able to do better," he sneered.

"Hyne, how did we get back to _this _again?! Haven't I done enough to prove to you that you're the one I-" She cut herself off and sighed. "Think what you want of me, Seifer, but know one thing." She looked up, meeting the scorn in his green eyes with crystal certainty. "I'm proud of you. I always have been."

"Yeah, well you would say that," he smirked. "You're just tying to get me back into bed."

"Perhaps. It _is _hard to do. In more ways than one."

"Instructor, did you just make an _innuendo_? I'm appalled!"

"Come on, let's get back to Garden." She walked back to where the car was parked.

For a moment, Seifer watched her go, still shaking his head slightly. _Hyne, I love her._

As far as there could be a silence within his own head, this one was deafening. _No. No no no no no no! I did _not _just think that!_

_**I'm afraid you did, **_his GF snickered.

_Then I take it back! No reason why the temporary insanity that made me think that need ever be __mentioned ever again. EVER, is that clear? _

_**Crystal. But you do realise it's not something you can just take-**_

_I just did, didn't I?! _

_**Very well. You didn't say it. And I'm sure you're right. I'm suuuuure you're not in love with her. And exactly who are you trying to convince?**_

--

A/N: It seems odd that I only get creative bursts at 3 am. Very strange. Anyhoo, another chappy done, review please. Just so you know, next chapter I'm going to launch into the storyline, so this was your last chance to enjoy all the fluffiness. Drama drama drama soon. Review!


	8. Faceoff

**Chapter Eight**

**A/N: Recommended listening for this chappie is _Addicted _by Kelly Clarkson. Which I don't own. **

Quistis was in her favourite place. Namely her room. The room in itself wasn't necessarily her favourite place, and nor was the bed, in which she was currently lying. No, right now it was her favourite place because it was where Seifer was. And she was in his arms. Hence the favouritism. Neither of them were awake or asleep, content merely to doze, spent after languidly making love for the past several hours. Quistis sighed and tried in vain to snuggled closer to her heat source. Her movement made Seifer stir. She smiled as his sleepy expression. Relaxed in the arms of Morpheus was probably the only time he ever looked innocent. "Sorry," she murmured. She kissed him softly. "Go back to sleep."

"Nah," he smirked. "Found something better to do."

"Oh?"

He answered her question by catching her lips again, his mouth devouring hers in lazy, hungry movements. When they broke apart, he checked the time. "Damn."

"What? Is it late?"

"It's so late it's early."

"Oh. You have to go…"

He nodded. "Mind if I take a shower before I go?"

"Go ahead," she replied, stretching. He got up and walked to her bathroom, Quistis enjoying the view she was getting as he went.

He turned to see her eyebrow raised, a smirk on her face. "Huh. Never seen my expression on someone else's face before."

"What can I say? You're a bad influence."

He chuckled and turned the shower on. "Care to join me?"

"I think that would defeat the point of actually having a shower," she said.

"But you're going to anyway," he assured, as though he were more certain of that than anything else in the world.

_Damn arrogance_, she thought, getting up anyway. "I hate you."

"Nah, you love me."

She rolled her eyes. "Shut up and get in the shower."

--

_Seifer's on his knees, Hyperion in hand but clearly defeated. Too exhausted to keep fighting. A dark shadowy figure stands in front of him, blade raised to deliver a killing blow. And suddenly Quistis runs in front of him, evading the blow and sliding a long, thin bladed knife into the chest of the other man. As he staggers into the light it becomes apparent who it is. Squall Leonhart. Next it's Zell Dincht, then some girl Quistis has never seen before, tiny and with gravity-defying hair. _

"_What are you _doing_, Quisty?" she shouts. _

_Quistis doesn't answer, instead opens up this young woman's chest and watches as a lovely tableau of organs fall out. A man in a cowboy hat. A dark haired girl in a light blue duster. She kills them all to defend the man she loves, until their blood covers her hands and is splattered on her face. There are no lengths to which she would not go; even killing her dearest friends – she knows, somehow, that they are – does not seem too high a price. She would do anything, and as a mad cackle of laughter leaves her mouth, she realises it has cost her everything. Even her mind. _

--

Quistis shot up in her freezing cold bed, icy sweat pouring from her in waves, and shivering uncontrollably. _My Hyne. What have I become? _

It took another few seconds for reality to settle in. She put one hand on her chest and tried to calm down. She didn't quite manage it. _Deep breaths. Evaluate the situation. _Not that SeeD protocol to deal with panic worked too well for dreams. _Firstly, I don't know half of those people I supposedly 'killed'. Second, I don't use a knife, I use a whip. Third, even if I do love Seifer, there's no way I'd kill for him. _

_No? _a sly voice in the back of her head. _If his life was in danger, and if you were the only one who could save him? You would kill for him in a heartbeat. _

This was something that needed to be stopped. Right now. It was something that had to be avoided at all costs.

Quistis slid out from the covers, then sat on her bed, her head feeling like it was stuffed full of wet cotton wool and aching at her temples. She could feel the gears grinding around in her brain without actually achieving anything. It wasn't good. That much she could work out. But then again, any five year old with a pea-sized intellect could work that much out. He'd gone, and she was left with this vague feeling of panic. He'd actually ordered her into the shower. And she'd…submitted.

_I need to get out. I need to get away from here and away from this crazy situation. _It was cloying and made her feel chained, pinioned to Seifer's will and desire. When she was with him, and liquid, she couldn't muster the energy to fight against the drug that overwhelmed her sense and reason. She lost herself in the euphoric lethargy.

It changed when he was gone.

When he was gone, it was like going cold turkey. She got the shakes, she was utterly bone-cold and she craved him every moment she wasn't with him. There was no other word for it: Addiction. She was addicted to him like he was addicted to cigarettes.

The sun had risen before she'd noticed it. She looked at the time: 5:37 am. Classes didn't start till nine am. She had more than enough time to get out of Garden, if only for a short time. _I'll go for a run. _

When she was out in the cold dawn, her feet pounding on the asphalt of Balamb's quiet main road, one question pounded along with her feet.

_What am I doing? _

Her brain provided the answer. It wasn't one she cared to listen to. _You're running away. You're scared because you've never been in love before, you're scared because he suddenly has all the power, and instead of facing up to the situation – like say, a _soldier – _you've decided to jump the gun and run away as fast as you can._

_I'm not running away, I just…Alright, so maybe I am running away. But can you blame me? It was never supposed to go this far, it was just going to be a…a…_fling _that wouldn't last. _

_Well you could have been wiser about your choices. If you were going to have an affair with a student, you could have picked someone sensible. Instead you pick the most unstable one of the bunch._

_I can't help how I feel._

_Yes you can. It's hardly difficult: you can stick with it, and in all probability get your heart broken, and lose control of the situation completely – as you're apt to do when he's around – or get out now. _

Of course it all boiled down to that: control. She'd been in control of her own destiny every single second of every single day since she'd walked into Garden. Until Seifer. And that lack of control terrified her. Even when she fancied herself in love with Squall, it hadn't affected her like this. Ice and steel – that wasn't such a bad combination, right? Quite balanced surely. It would never be passionate, but it would be…structured. With Squall she could have followed the pattern she'd had laid out in her head since she was five. Closing her eyes, she tried to imagine what kissing him would be like. So what if she'd have to keep her eyes closed because his eyes weren't the right colour? Did it matter that he was a little too short? What difference would it make if he didn't taste like woodsmoke with a hint of bitter chocolate? She didn't have to be with someone who made her heart race every time he smiled did she?

Except that in all this calm, logical reasoning, there was one tiny, little, insignificant, SCREAMING flaw. She did have to have all those things. A life with Squall would end with her on her deathbed looking back at her life with…satisfaction. Knowing that she'd been intellectual in her choices, cool and collected in all her years. Knowing she'd never _burned_. The idea made her shiver. She did _have to _have fire and blazing emerald eyes and smoky kisses and almost-heart attacks all the time. She had to have them as much as she had to breathe. It was essential now. If she couldn't have them then she'd shrivel. She wouldn't kill herself or anything dramatic like that, but she wouldn't last into being an old lady either. Without a soul, no-one could.

She never thought she'd _envy _those one night stands that came before her. The girls that Seifer had used and tossed aside like yesterday's rubbish. But right now she thought she'd give anything to be in their position. The emotion on their part wouldn't extend past an angry resentment for a few months, then they'd find someone else to shower their affections on. There'd always be tension, but those girls would still be whole. They'd still have the capacity to heal. But having been _loved_ by him – there could be no healing, no wholeness after that. The wounds and the delicious pain went too deep. What else could there be such intensity? Anyone else would just be…adequate. Enough. Passable. _Safe_.

No danger. No blaze of glory. No whispered gasps of _more _in the dark.

--

Seifer hadn't slept once he'd gone back to his room. He hadn't even tried. There'd be no point, not without Quistis there. It was ridiculous, and made him feel like a kid again – he just didn't find that deep, restful sleep unless it was the sound of her breathing that lulled him off. Since the affair had begun, he only ever really found that when he'd trained so hard before he went to bed that his muscles were shaking with fatigue.

So instead, he swung by his dorm, grabbed Hyperion and stalked off through the corridors to another person's room. None of the Garden Faculty stopped him; even had he not been the head of the Disciplinary Committee, he still radiated a 'don't fuck with me' vibe. Though he hadn't actually done much disciplining lately. A bit of guilt pricked at him – over the past few weeks he'd basically abandoned his posse. _Damn you to hell, Quistis. _

He knew Leonhart was an early riser, and he needed to test his skills. Nowhere else could he get that except from someone who was _almost _on a par with him. Getting to the door, he proceeded in pounding on it with his fist. Squall wrenched it open after a few moments, fully dressed and promising a very cold, very painful death. "_What_, Almasy?!"

"You up for a fight, Squally-boy?"

A muscle in Squall's jaw tensed. "Don't call me that."

"So you prefer Puberty Boy?"

"Fuck off, Almasy, and leave me alone."

"Nah, don't think I will."

The door was slammed shut again. Seifer grinned and pounded on it. "Come on, Leonhart, I'm going to start thinking you're a chicken." Silence. "Oh, I guess you are then." He heaved a dramatic sigh. "I could always go pick on some other gunbladist I guess…Yeah, I will do that." He raised his voice again. "Might present an actual _challenge_. It's getting too easy to kick your scrawny ass. _Every time._"

Smirking, knowing he'd got the upper hand, he began walking slowly down the hallway. A few seconds later, Squall's door banged open. "Change your mind?" he asked.

"Fucking awake now anyway."

About twenty minutes later, the two teenagers were facing each other across the Acauld Plains. Neither of them moved. They both knew how this was going to go; Seifer was always the aggressor, always the one how attacked first. Unless he _really _pissed Leonhart off. Squall had stuck his gunblade into the ground. "So you just going to wake me up at the fucking crack of dawn and then not attack me?"

Seifer just smirked and raised Hyperion. the light glinting wickedly on the lethal blade.

Then he moved. And years of half-teasing half-deadly serious animosity ignited.

--

Quistis got back to Garden at about seven thirty and hopped into the shower, washing the sweat from her hair and sighing under the spray. _I know it's not healthy, I know in the long run it's not going to help me, but I need to do it if I'm going to survive in the __**now**_.

_**Quistis…**_

_What, Shiva? _

_**Maybe you should stop this. **_

_That's what I'm trying to do isn't it? _

_**No, I mean stop this affair. It isn't right. **_

_What do you mean, 'it's not right.'? I love him, Shiva. _

_**I'm aware of that, but believe me, Quistis, I have seen love before. I know what works and what doesn't. And this passion is doomed. **_

_Doomed?! _

_**For the time being, yes. You are both too young and inexperienced in life to pledge your whole soul to another the way you have done. You will only lose it, in the end. **_Her GF's mental voice was like that of a mother; sad and wise and compassionate.

Quistis didn't want to hear it. _You don't know what you're talking about, Shiva. Just leave it. _

_**As you wish. I am only trying to counsel you. **_

_I do not ask for your counsel. I ask for your help in battle, that is all. _She took the arctic silence in her mind as acquiescence. She turned off the water and dressed in her uniform, sighing as she thought about the classes again. _There's something I've forgotten…_ Something important was happening today, something _very _important…

She drew in a breath. _Oh my Hyne, the exam! It's today, and I forgot all about it! Damn you to hell, Seifer. _It was times like this she wished he just wasn't in her life. Then at least she could concentrate properly. _Ok, think like the cool-headed SeeD you're supposed to be. Has everyone passed the preliminaries? Yes. Except Squall. Right, the exam's not till this evening, I can take Squall to the Fire Caverns this afternoon. _

Suddenly the phone rang on her wall, startling her out of her pensive coma. "Instructor Trepe."

"Quistis? It's Dr. Kadowaki here."

She sighed. "Good morning, Doctor. I assume you have one of my students there?"

"Yes, I'm afraid I do."

"Is he very badly hurt?"

"No, not at all. Superficial facial wound, it will probably leave a scar."

"Ok, I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Alright. No need to really hurry, he's not going anywhere."

_Well, it's one of them_, she thought. _But which one? If it's Squall then maybe I'll finally get it through my thick skull that Seifer isn't some divine being... And if it's Seifer…Oh Hyne, what if it is Seifer?_

She almost ran to the door and wrenched it open, then gasped, a hand to her mouth. "Oh Hyne, what happened to _you_?"

Seifer, standing on the other side with his hand raised to knock, glowered at her. He wiped the blood away from his forehead again. "I got cut," he said unnecessarily.

"I can see _that_," she replied. "Come inside, let me get some potions." She handed him a towel and sat him down. "Hold that to the wound, keep the pressure on it." She went inside to the bathroom and grabbed a handful of tiny bottles from the cabinet. Once shed got them, she sat just behind him on the bed and touched his shoulder. "Lean back," she said gently.

He sighed and put his head in her lap, trying not to enjoy the feeling of her taking care of him. "Thanks," he muttered quietly after a while.

She didn't reply, instead uncorking the first potion bottle. "This will sting," she murmured. Bit by bit, she poured the slightly glowing liquid into the cut, one hand stroking through his hair softly with every hiss of pain he gave. By he time she'd finished, all of the potion was gone and the cut had sealed, leaving behind an angry red scar. "Done," she announced softly. Neither of them moved or spoke for a second, things returning to their tense state. "Dare I ask what state Squall's in?"

"Who said it was Leonhart?" he responded testily.

"Who else would it be, Seifer?" she asked, pushing him up. "What was it about this time? You know you're not supposed to-"

"Don't go fucking _Instructor _on me, Quistis, I don't need it right now."

"What is the _matter _with you?" she demanded. "I haven't done anything, I haven't said anything, and yet _somehow _you're pissed off with me!"

_You have no idea what you've done, _he thought. _You've made me fall- _"Only because you're being weird with me! Hyne, Quistis, what exactly is your problem?! Why have you suddenly started hating me?"

"_My _problem?! Who said I had a problem with you?" She took a deep breath and ran a hand through her hair. "I'm not angry at you, Seifer. I don't hate you." He went still, standing in front of her as the whole room seemed to quiet and tense as she carried on. "If anything…I-" She cut off abruptly, her shoulders slumping. She just looked so defeated. It scared him shitless. What the hell could have actually _defeated _a woman like Quistis Trepe? Her body language screamed it. _What would be the point? I'm going to lose anyway. _

"Quistis-"

"I have to go to the Infirmary. Make sure the door is locked on your way out," she interrupted him quietly. That couldn't be a tear on her cheek. It couldn't be. Trepe didn't cry.

--

Furious with herself, Quistis wiped away the tears she told herself weren't there and carried on toward the Infirmary. Finally she entered the double doors feeling exhausted already. "Quistis! I was beginning to think you weren't coming, dear."

"Sorry, Doctor. I got, er, held up."

"He's in there," Dr. Kadowaki replied.

Quistis headed in the direction of Exam 3. As she saw Squall slouched on the bed, she couldn't help shaking her head in an exasperated fashion at him. _Well at least they match. _

"I knew it'd either be you or Seifer," she murmured.

Even Squall, king of the closed-off, unemotional introverts, couldn't miss the sadness in her voice. The faintest urge to enquire if she was ok ran through him, before dismissing it. _None of my business. _

"Come on, let's go. Today's the field exam," she finally said, after subjecting him to an objective, assessing look for a while. He shifted uncomfortably for a few moments and then got up.

Walking out of the Infirmary, Quistis decided enough was enough now. She'd had breathless passion, now what she needed was something entirely different. _I need Squall. _The thought flew into her mind before she could stop it. But it was true, she needed to make herself fall in love with him, and then this…imprisonment would be over. _Right. Find reasons why you should be with Squall. _

_Ummmmm…Ah, couples finish each others sentences. I certainly know Squall well enough to do that. He's at least predictable in that respect. _

_And most others, _another part of her added. _Not like-_

"Squall. Is there something on your mind?" she asked. She knew what his answer would be, so she said it with him. "Not really!" Ignoring the cold glare she got in return, she laughed.

"What's so funny?" he asked testily.

"Funny? No, no it's not that. I'm just happy. I feel like I'm finally beginning to understand my student a little. That's all."

More annoyance. "I'm more complex than you think."

_Compared to Seifer, you're a child's jigsaw puzzle. _"Then tell me. Tell me more about yourself."

"It's none of your-"

"-business!"

Squall looked like he really had had enough now, and Instructor or no, was just about to tell Quistis where to go, so she decided to leave it for a while. Formulate a new strategy.

Walking into class a few moments later, her eyes alighted on green ones – surprisingly holding a hint of concern – before turning her attention to the rest of the class. "Good morning, class. Let's start with today's schedule. There seem to have been some rumours flying around since yesterday... Yes, the field exam for SeeD candidates will begin later this afternoon. Those not participating and those who failed last week's written test are to remain here in study hall. Field exam participants will have free time until the exam. Just be sure you're in top condition. Meet in hall at 1600 hours. I'll announce the team assignments there. Any questions?"

No-one put their hand up, so Quistis turned her ice-blue gaze on her lover. "Oh, and Seifer! Do _not _injure your partner while training. Be more careful from now on."

His eyes narrowed. _Is Leonhart the only one sitting here with a fucking scar, Quistis?!_ He slammed his fist down onto the desk once. Quistis raised an unconcerned eyebrow.

"Field exam participants, I will see you all later. And Squall, I need to talk to you," she said, dismissing the class. Walking past her, they made sure to ignore each other completely, without really knowing why.

Facing Squall, Quistis spoke. "You haven't been to the Fire Caverns yet have you? You won't be able to take part in today's SeeD exam if you don't pass this prerequisite."

Squall said nothing. "Hm? Do you have a good excuse?" she asked.

"...Not really."

Quistis nodded. "Then let's get going. If you're not too confident yet, you can review your studies at the study panel. I'll be waiting at the front gate, so come down when you're ready."

Leaving the class, she headed back to her dorm to pick up her whip. She found Seifer waiting inside it. "What are you doing in here?" she asked. "Seifer, this is too risky, if you were seen-" As soon as she'd entered, he's stood up, then crushed her against the wall with his body, his mouth landing on hers in a violent kiss that was meant to utterly dominate her.

"I don't give a shit," he whispered hoarsely. "And you might take pleasure in tormenting me, but remember I'm the only one who _gives _you pleasure. You think Puberty Boy could fuck you like I can?"

Furious, and extremely aroused, she grabbed the lapels of his coat and slammed him again the wall while her lips busied themselves with the flesh of his neck. "You only fuck me because I _let _you, Almasy."

"You gonna 'let' me now, Trepe?" he hissed, spinning her once again.

She answered his question by wrapping her lags around his hips and reaching for his belt. He didn't bother with undressing her; just hiked her skirt up around her hips and pressed his erection against her clit briefly. She moaned and arched her body against his. He bit her neck and thrust into her, not allowing her even a second to accommodate his size, instead moving again, forcing pleasure to roll in waves across her body. Her fingers clawed at the cold leather of his coat as her cries of pleasure mingled with his groans to form a sordid symphony that echoed around the room. The explosion of bliss was upon her before she had time to realise it was coming, and she managed to avoid a scream only by biting down on Seifer's bottom lip. He returned the kiss fiercely as he released inside her, beads of sweat gathering on his brow.

Coming down from the high, he turned them both once again and slid down the wall, breathing hard. "So when were you going to tell _me _about the exam?"

She kissed his temple. "I honestly forgot. How's your head?"

"It's fine."

They were silent for a while, until Seifer decided on something to say. "I'm going to pass this time, Quis."

She said nothing, simply got up and went into the bathroom. A few moments later, she came out to find an expression of anger on his face again. "What is it?"

"You don't think I'm going to pass, do you?" he demanded.

"You will..."

"_But_?"

She shrugged. "It's in 'if', not a 'but'. You'll pass if you follow the orders. But you know that, Seifer." She kissed him once more and left the room, leaving Seifer to think. He could come up with only one conclusion.

_She doesn't believe in me. _

**A/N: Oh, and just as a general good Seifer/Quistis song, _Beautiful Disaster, _also by Kelly Clarkson, fits almost scarily well I think. Also, this is going to be my last update for a while. Exams are coming up, then it's summer and I'm spending three months in America. Which I'm TOTALLY excited about, but I obviously won't writing much. If you look on my favourites there are some good ones to tie you over till I get back. But still, review please! **


	9. One Last Chance

**Chapter Nine**

Quistis was pacing up and down the lobby, waiting for the candidates to arrive for the exam. She'd taken Squall to the Fire Caverns, he'd picked up the GF with a little more trouble than Seifer, but still far faster than any of the others. Though his celebration style was somewhat lacking in Quistis's opinion, especially since it didn't involve her being kissed senseless. Not that she would have wanted that anyway. At least not from Squall. _Or do I? Hyne I've never been so confused! _

She looked up from her pacing and spotted Squall coming from the dorms, looking for her. "Squall! Over here!" He came over and stood in front of her, looking terribly bored and terribly good in his SeeD uniform.

She tried for an encouraging smile – not that he looked like he needed it. "I'll be announcing the squad assignments for the exam now." She looked up from the list, checking that everybody was here. _Everyone except Seifer. What a surprise…_ She shook her head slightly. "You'll be with…Zell Dincht." She smiled a bit. "Quite a lively fellow."

Squall looked extremely distasteful. "Lively? He's just _loud. _Can't I switch members?"

She arched an eyebrow. "I'm afraid that's not possible. Over here, Zell!" Watching him backflip over to the two of them, Quistis thought she quite liked Zell. Squall may have had a point- he was rather exuberant, but he was also highly skilled and careful to watch out for the wellbeing of his team-mates. A good person to have on your side in a fight, she thought.

Zell got there and reacted to having Squall in his squad. "Whoa! I'm with you?!" Without waiting for an answer, he launched straight in. "You don't get along with Seifer, do you? Heard he whooped you pretty bad this morning."

"We weren't fighting. We were training."

_Of course you were, _Quistis thought. _Seifer never gets personal in his fights. _

"I bet you he doesn't think so," Zell said sagely. "Look, Seifer's just being a pain in the ass. All you have to do is ignore him."

_Score two for Zell. _With amusement, she saw Squall's next reply. "None of your business." She wanted to laugh at the arctic glare sent her way but didn't. "Ahem…" She returned her attention back to the list. _Ah. Problem. _"Excuse me, but… That Seifer you're talking about. He's your squad leader."

"SAY WHAT?!" Zell exploded.

Quistis grimaced. "It can't be changed. Seifer! Are you here?"

She turned to see him sauntering into the lobby with the posse. He shot her a look that was full of about a thousand things all at once, none of which she understood, and came over. "You're the squad leader," she informed him. "Good luck to you."

He gave a smirk full of arrogance. "Instructor, please. I hate it when people wish me luck. Save those words for a bad student who needs them," he winked.

She only smiled. "Ok then. Good luck, Seifer." She hoped no-one noticed how flirtatious her voice sounded.

Seifer narrowed his eyes. "Add Instructor Trepe to the list," he told Raijin over his shoulder.

Quistis raised an eyebrow. "Well then. You're all assigned to Squad B. I'll be the instructor in charge. Teamwork is of _utmost importance_," she stressed for Seifer. He merely looked bored. _I give up._ "Let's get through the exam, everyone!"

Seifer stepped forward, towering over Zell and Squall. "Listen up! Teamwork means staying out of my way. It's a Squad B rule. Don't forget it!"

Quistis opened her mouth to issue a reprimand, but Cid spoke to her first. "Everyone here?" She nodded. "Excellent."

He stepped forward to give his customary speech. Quistis looked up and met scornful green eyes. _Please pass this time, Seifer. Please. For me as well as you. I've had enough breaking the law now. _Almost as if he'd heard her thoughts, he gave a tiny mock salute and looked back at Cid. Quistis did too, thinking that it was about now the Headmaster should have gone off track.

"…pride of Balamb Garden!" _Yep. _"The elite mercenary force, SeeD! Learn from them, obey their commands and accomplish the mission. Prove yourself worthy of becoming a member of SeeD. Best of luck."

"Thank you Headmaster," Quistis said crisply. "Alright everyone, into the cars."

When they got to the parking garage, Squall and Zell climbed into a car, but Seifer stopped and held the door open for Quistis. She wasn't surprised – as much of an ass as he could be sometimes, he certainly seemed to have chivalry built-in. She smiled. "Thank you, Seifer."

"Anytime, Instructor."

The car started up and began driving toward the town and the harbour. Zell evidently decided that the silence that filled it was not comfortable. "Yo, Squall. Show me your gunblade, will ya?"

Quistis met Seifer's eyes, then looked away immediately to keep from laughing. Squall said nothing.

"Come on, man!"

Nothing.

"Just a peek!"

Nothing.

"Tch, fine. Yeah, yeah. Why you being so selfish?! Scrooooge!" **(A/N: Sorry, random thought. Does this mean they have Charles Dickens in Gaia? And Christmas?) **

Squall continued his 'I'm a block of ice act'.

Zell started to look rather perturbed. "Say something will ya?! What's on your mind?"

Quistis couldn't help it – it was habit now. "Nothing…"

Squall and Seifer both shot her evil looks, and Zell looked dumbfounded, then started warming up. While in principle it may have been a good idea, in the confined space of the car, they all had to avoid kicks and punches.

"Stop that…it's annoying," Seifer said. Quistis couldn't help but privately agree. "Chicken-wuss."

_Oh no. Why do I get the feeling that's going to be one of those nicknames that persists? _

Zell stopped, then slowly went red until he was a shade of crimson that most tomatoes would have been proud of. "WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?!"

Her lover only smirked. "Heheheh…"

"Knock it off!" Quistis said sharply to them both.

Squall chose that moment to prove he hadn't expired. "…Instructor…Who was that girl in the infirmary this morning?"

She raised her eyebrows in surprise. _Squall knows what a girl is? Well who'd have thought it. _"Was someone there? I didn't notice anybody." He continued to look pensive about it. "Is there a problem?"

"No…not really…"

Seifer rolled his eyes. "This is great, I have Chicken-wuss and a guy who just reached Puberty in my squad."

Eventually, after a few more minor squabbles, the car stopped at the Harbour, and they all got out, Seifer offering a hand to Quistis in a move that she was sure was utterly contrived, but took anyway.

Squall was stood looking at the boat. "So that's the vessel?"

"Ain't no turning back now!" Squall said nothing, and Seifer rolled her eyes, indicating Zell. "What, are you scared too?"

One of the SeeDs spoke up. "Hey, you guys are the last! Hurry up and get it!"

Seifer smirked and patted Squall of the shoulder hard enough to knock him forward a couple of inches. "Don't disappoint me now!"

"Come on, move it!" Quistis said when he still hadn't moved. "Hurry, Squall!" She entered with the others to see Xu already inside.

"Hi, Quistis."

"Hey. Well, this is Squad B."

Xu acknowledged the greetings of Zell and Squall, then rounded on Seifer, much to Quistis's chagrin. "Seifer, how many times had it been now?"

He smirked. "You know how I love these exams…"

"I'll explain the current situation and the mission. Be seated."

They all sat, and Xu launched into an explanation of what they'd be doing in an extremely long winded way without actually telling the squad what they were doing. Seifer got bored rather quickly, and decided to cut to the chase. "So, what are _we _supposed to do?"

Xu huffed. "SeeD candidates are to eliminate the G-Army inside the city."

Zell looked impressed. "Sounds important."

Seifer, having done this twice already, knew the difference between a challenging mission and a crappy one. "Sounds _boring_. So what you're saying is we do all the dirty work."

"Yep. And you don't complain about it either. Oh, and it hardly needs to be said," she continued in a tone that implied it _did _need to be said, "but the order to withdraw take priority. Do not forget. We're almost there, and you'll be pitched headfirst into battle, so be ready. Any questions, talk to Instructor Trepe." With that, she sat down again and struck up a quiet conversation with Quistis.

The three males were silent for a while, and Seifer could see the tension in their faces. Or rather, see the tension in Zell's face, since Squall's seemed to have been carved from a block of granite. He wasn't so worried about Squall anyway – he'd made sure that the guy knew what he was supposed to do in fights in the real world. Seifer never went easy on him when they were training, and technically he shouldn't have used the magic he had this morning, but real opponents wouldn't fight fair, so neither did he. _Plus I would have beaten him anyway._

Coming out of his introspective reflection, he saw the beads of sweat gathering on Zell's forehead. _Great. That's all we need, him shitting himself. _Heaving a sigh, he tried to reassure them. "Listen up," he said, his voice a touch gentler than normal. Our goal is to mop up all the Galbadians left in Dollet. All you have to do is take orders from me. Nothing more complicated."

At his words, Quistis looked up, a little surprised. _Yeah, Quis, I can actually do reassuring when I want to. Damn that woman underestimates me. _

Zell spoke to the floor. "My first real battle…I'm getting pretty nervous."

"You better not piss in your pants." The strangely hopeful expression on his lover's face was extinguished, and she went back to her blank instructor-face. The one that Seifer _really _hated. Probably because he'd seen how many wonderful expressions that beautiful face was capable of, and seeing it devoid of _any_ of them…was heartbreaking. He shook his head slightly and turned his attention back to a steadily reddening Zell.

"You talking to me?!"

"Nah, you think?"

"…Bastard."

"Ok, enough talking," Quistis said. "We're landing soon. Get ready."

"Roger."

"Alright."

"Yeah, yeah." He turned to his rival. "Squall, go see what's going on outside."

"Ok." Squall climbed up the ladder to the deck, and Zell followed him a few moments later. Xu went quickly to the bridge, leaving Seifer and Quistis alone. They spoke at the same time.

"Seifer, I-"

"Quis, you-"

"Be careful out there, won't you?" she said quietly.

He smirked. "Please, it's the Galbadians who need to be careful when I'm around."

There was a crash as the boat knocked into the crumbling harbour wall. Quistis was sent stumbling into Seifer, who took advantage of the distraction to steal a fierce kiss, then break away just as the other members of the squad came back down.

Quistis, still a little flushed, cleared her throat over the gunfire that could be heard from outside. "Ok, you're to secure the Central Square. Be sure to equip your GFs before you head into battle."

He cast her one more look that hit her like a shot of morphine, then nodded. "Let's move out."

The three of them left, running full-tilt into the battle. Quistis was left standing within the safety of the boat, clenching her hands together. "Good luck," she murmured.

Xu's voice made her jump. "You ready?"

She nodded. "Yes."

The SeeDs' job was to secure the boats until the cadets got back and the mission was over. It would do no good to have them blown up by the Galbadians. Quistis was actually glad she'd be fighting – it would prove a useful distraction from worrying, and she couldn't throw off the feeling that Seifer would be wreaking havoc somewhere. Worse, she wasn't entirely sure Squall wouldn't rise to the bait, either. _Never mind, I have more important things to be worrying about_, she thought, taking down a Galbadian with one swift crack of her whip. She suddenly found herself facing two of them, one on either side, and she couldn't quite reach her whip in time – having just dropped it a second before. "Hands up, SeeD!" one of them barked.

Cursing, she put her hands up slowly, then smirked when a plan hit her. Suddenly, she slammed her palms into the gun barrels on each side. Surprised, the Galbadians lost their grip and let their weapons spin around, the muzzles now pointing at them. Quistis unerring fingers found the triggers on both guns. One of the soldiers had time for a "Fu-" Before she squeezed them, and both soldiers' faces vanished in a haze of red. Picking up her whip, she looked at the sprawled corpses, reminded of that fact that she hated killing. _What delightful irony for a mercenary_, she thought. As much as she disliked taking life, however, she would if she had to, and now was one of those times. At about 1800, she found Xu fighting next to her. "I think we've probably done about all we can!" she panted.

"I agree," Quistis replied. "I'll dispatch the messengers to tell the squads, we'll leave at 1900."

"Agreed."

Quistis moved up and down the beach, finding those cadets designated messengers. She eventually came to the last one, a spiky-haired girl fighting with a nunchukh, and doing rather well. She was wearing the yellow ribbon of a student from Trabia Garden on her uniform rather than the red of Balamb. "Yes, Instructor?" she panted.

"I want to you find Squad B, tell the captain that all candidates are to report back to the beach and assemble by no later than 1900 hours, got that?"

"Yes, ma'am!" she chirped, before running off into the town.

_Wherever you are, Seifer_, she thought, _follow this order. Follow it and you'll be a SeeD. Oh please Hyne don't let him bollocks this up. _

Over the next hour, the SeeD squads began coming back to the boats in dribs and drabs – as soon as each was full, Quistis sent it back to Garden. Each time she saw another cadet, and it was not Seifer, the fist of fear tightened a little more around her heart. With five minutes left, and only one boat left, a blond head came over the crest and stomped onto the beach.

Her relief faded when it was clear he was alone. "Seifer! Where's the rest of your squad?"

He shrugged, seemingly unconcerned. "They're behind me somewhere. Don't worry about it, Instructor, Leonhart can deal with it."

"He's not supposed to be dealing with it, you are! Why did it take you so long to get back here anyway, the Central Square's only a few minutes away!"

"I know that."

She frowned, struck by a suspicion. "You weren't in the Central Square, were you?"

He cut down a stray Galbadian trying to sneak up on them. "As a matter of fact, no."

"So you disobeyed orders _again_?"

"It was more important than fucking orders!"

"That's not for you to decide! Get on the boat, Seifer, I don't want to hear it!"

Throwing her a poisonous look, he jogged to the boat. Quistis still couldn't see any sign of Squall, Zell or the messenger-girl. _Perhaps if I had a higher vantage point. _

She ran into the boat, pushed past Seifer and climbed up to the gun turret. Sure enough, Zell and – _Selphie Tilmitt, that was it – _came sprinting onto the beach. Still no sign of- _Oh wonderful. _She could see Squall now, running for all he was worth to the beach, being chased by a robot that her military memory identified as an X-ATM092 Attack Spider. And it was catching up.

_Killing one of _my _students? I don't think so, bitch. Much less Squall. _Gritting her teeth, she took hold of the machine gun in front of her and fired. The first few bullets impacted on the metal skin of the robot, barely scratching it, but after about ten seconds, and almost a thousand bullets, it fell sparking onto the sand. Squall took a flying leap into the boat, and then they were gone.

Quistis sighed, straightened her skirt and climbed back down again. "Everyone ok?"

Ignoring Seifer, she walked over to Squall, still slumped on the metal, and helped him up. "Squall? Are you injured?"

He shook his head and took his arm from her grasp. "I'm fine."

"Right. Well, everyone, assuming you did what you were supposed to, you should have all passed, but the results won't be back until we get to Garden. I suggest you get a little rest."

About twenty minutes later, the cabin was filled with the sounds of sleep, as Squall, Zell and Selphie had taken her advice to get a little shuteye. Seifer and Quistis were brooding, not talking. Eventually he looked up. "I've passed, you know."

"It'll be no-one's fault but your own if you've failed," Quistis said coldly .

"You're a bitch sometimes, Quistis."

"You're not as good as you think you are sometimes, Seifer," she spat back, knowing that it would hurt him. Seifer prided himself on being the best. And generally he was. With just one massive hubris. He took risks that were bigger than his ego, and they crushed him.

When they docked in Balamb Harbour, and Seifer stormed out, Quistis found she didn't much care. As expected, Raijin and Fujin were waiting for him. The three of them left immediately. Quistis turned back to the other three. "Good job. Now remember to be back at Garden by sundown. You're free until then. Ok, dismissed."

There was the sound of a car horn beeping, and Xu pulled up. "Hey, Quis, need a lift back to Garden?"

Quistis slid gratefully into the passenger seat and groaned, rubbing her face. "That bad, huh?" Xu asked.

"Just exhausted. I feel like I need to sleep for a century or two."

Her friend smiled. "Don't worry. We'll get back to Garden and find out the results, then you can drown your sorrows at the graduation ball."

Quistis gave a tired smile and settled back in the seat. Then she gave a sniff. "What's that scent you're wearing, Xu? Rosewater?"

She sent her an odd look. "Yeah, how'd you know?"

"I can smell it."

"That's weird I only put a little bit on this morning. You'd have thought it would have come off by now." She sniffed her own wrist. "I can't smell anything. Maybe you were a wolf in a previous life with a sense of smell like that Quis."

When they got back to Garden, the two women left the car in the garage and headed upstairs to debrief Cid. When they found him, all the candidates were also there. "How did it go?" Cid asked after they'd saluted him.

"Mission complete, sir!" Xu said. "I think we did a pretty good job too. The candidates are back safely, right? Although we didn't realize the Galbadian Army was after the abandoned communication tower..."

Quistis was a little surprised, as she'd not heard anything about why the Galbadians had actually invaded in the first place. She'd just assumed, like Timber, it was a simple case of territorial expansion.

Cid nodded. "We've just received word from the Dollet Dukedom. The Galbadian Army has agreed to withdraw as long as the communication tower is repaired and the uplink remains operational."

"Well, in any case, Galbadia is out of there. We could've made more money if they'd stayed and caused more ruckus," Xu added thoughtfully.

Quistis's attention was now on Squall and Seifer. "…would've been heroes if it weren't for that withdraw order."

Quistis and Xu moved over to them. "You were only looking for a fight," she told him reproachfully.

He merely smirked. "My dear instructor, I'm hurt. Those are rather cruel words for an aspiring student. A mediocre instructor like you will never understand." Quistis barely managed not to flinch. She might have known Seifer's weak points, but there could be no denying that he knew hers too.

Xu came to her friend's rescue. "Seifer, don't be so stuck on yourself. You'll take all responsibility for leaving the designated area."

"Isn't the captain's duty to take the best possible action?" he asked smoothly.

Xu scoffed. "Seifer, you'll never be a SeeD. Calling yourself a captain is a joke." With that she walked away, leaving Quistis to look starkly at Seifer with a look that radiated disappointment.

Cid beckoned to her, and she went over. "Yes, sir?"

"When the results have been announced, I'd like to see you in my office, Quistis."

"Yes, sir."

"You can go rest until then. Dismissed."

"Thank you, sir." She walked back to her dorm and didn't bother to take her uniform off, instead simply falling onto her bed and letting Morpheus claim her.

--

It seemed only five minutes until there was a knock from outside. She opened the door to see a member of the Garden Faculty stood there. "Yes?"

"The Headmaster would like to see you now."

She nodded. "Very well."

A few moments later, she entered Cid's office. "You wanted to see me, sir?"

"Yes, Quistis, come in, come in."

She went inside and sat down a little nervously. "What's this about, sir?"

"I wanted to talk to you now that the list of new SeeDs has been released. I'm afraid..."

She looked down, her heart sinking. "Seifer failed again."

"Yes."

She broke with her icy composure for once and buried her face in her hands. "All he had to do was follow the orders! That's _it_, nothing else! I'm sorry, sir, but I just don't-" She looked up to see Cid's face. His expression was very sympathetic, and very sad. Suddenly Quistis was very afraid. "There's more, isn't there?"

He nodded. "I'm so very sorry, Quistis."

She sat there in shock for the next few minutes as he explained the reasons. Cid's voice was so gentle. So concerned, so paternal. She thought it was only propriety that stopped him from giving her a comforting hug after he'd fired her. She didn't blink for at least thirty seconds. "Quistis?" Cid asked.

She looked up. "Yes, sir. I understand. Thank you, sir."

"You're dismissed," he said quietly.

She stood up and saluted, then walked out, not even talking to Xu on her way to the lift. "Quis? You ok?"

"I'm fine," she said dully. "See you later, Xu." As soon as the doors shut, she closed her eyes and swallowed hard.

How could she look him in the eyes and not blame him? How could she tell him that it was ok, that she'd make sure he passed next time? How could she be sympathetic to his loss when in truth it paled in comparison to her own? She couldn't. If she opened her mouth, Hyne only knew what would come out. She could hear the words in her head. _Hello, Seifer, failed again have you? Well I got fired because of it. Well done there. Not content with destroying your own life, but you felt the need to destroy mine as well. Great work! _

She stumbled back to her dorm in a state of shock, praying that she wouldn't run into anyone on the way. Especially Seifer. She burst through the door feeling like she needed to throw up. As she got inside, she almost tore off her SeeD uniform, feeling like the material was poison on her skin. She threw her peach clothes on, then collapsed on her bed, feeling like she needed to sleep for a thousand years.

She woke up two hours later completely nauseous for no reason. Pressing a hand over her mouth, she ran for the bathroom and heaved until she had nothing left in her stomach. Once the retching bout was over about twenty minutes later, she coughed and washed her mouth out. _Damn it. That's all I need. To get sick as well. _

She cursed as she looked at the clock – the SeeD ball started in less than ten minutes, and her clothes were all rumpled from sleeping in them. She sighed, and brushed out her hair before sweeping it back up, then sat on the edge of her bed, thinking hard. If she went – she wouldn't find Seifer. But then again she wasn't sure she wanted to. No, scratch that, she _really _didn't want to. She needed to get away from him, and she needed to be with someone who didn't...who wasn't... who she couldn't...

Forty-five minutes later, she was watching Squall execute a flawless dance with an extraordinarily pretty girl in a white dress. It was obvious there was a spark between the two of them, and Quistis watched with desolation in her heart. Once the music stopped, the girl headed toward where Cid was standing, and Squall went to stand on the balcony outside.

She went after him, her heels clicking softly on the marble. She stood on the balcony next to him. "You really are an excellent student. Even that dance was perfect," she sighed wistfully.

She could almost feel him roll his eyes. "Thank you," he said stiffly after a while.

She stayed quiet, and the silence drew out as Quistis cursed herself, then cursed Seifer, then herself again. She wondered why all her attempts at talking to Squall had failed, when clearly that dark-haired girl who seemed so familiar to her **(A/N: From the dream)** had had no such problem.

"Yes?" Squall asked.

"So you'll dance with someone you don't even know, but you can't stand being around me?"

Squall heaved a sigh. "…Whatever. You're an instructor, and I'm your student. It's kind of awkward when you don't say anything."

"That's true. I was like that myself…" _Until Seifer. What am I going to do? Everything's gone. O_h, I completely forgot," she said bitterly. "I wonder what's to become of me?" _And doesn't that just make me sound like a damsel in distress. _She took a deep breath and pulled herself together. "I've come to give you an order. You and I are to go to the 'secret area'. It's where students secretly meet up and talk after curfew," she added, fairly certain that Squall had never broken curfew in his life. "It's inside the training centre."

He scoffed. "What do you want to do there? Are we going to tell everyone they're violating curfew? If that's the case, forget it. Leave that for the disciplinary committee."

_I would, but I think Seifer's going to be drowning his sorrows right about now. _"Go get changed and meet me in front of the training centre. This…will be my last order," she added sadly.

Squall turned and scrutinised her for a moment, but then nodded and walked away. Quistis turned back and leaned against the balcony, looking out over the ocean. She realised that she wanted to get drunk more in that moment than she ever had in her life. She checked again in the pouch at her belt. Along with several items, she'd put three miniature bottles of vodka. She took a deep breath. _No. If I'm going through the training centre then I'll need my wits about me. Then I can get drunk. _

On the way to the training centre, she asked herself exactly what she was aiming to do. Seduce Squall? Try to open him up a little? What?

Squall was waiting for her outside the training centre. She tried for a friendly smile which he totally ignored. "Squall, I was just wondering…Have you fought the T-Rexaur in the training centre?"

"I'm not sure…" _No. I know Seifer has – he wouldn't stop boasting about it. _He honestly didn't know why she was bothering with him – if she wanted to bond with a student she should try Seifer. _He'd certainly respond better to compliments than I would._

"It's not that difficult – or shouldn't be now you're a SeeD. Just use a Sleep attack. Come on, let's go to the secret area. It's just inside the training centre."

Once they got there, Squall noticed Quistis staring hard at one section of wall. He cleared his throat loudly. She blinked. "I haven't been here for a while." She vividly remembered being screwed senseless up against that wall about a week ago.

Suddenly all the lights went out as the curfew came down, and Garden slept. "What time is it?"

"It's after midnight," he said calmly.

Quistis swallowed hard, using every ounce of willpower not to sob. "Oh well…I, Quistis Trepe, am no longer an instructor as of now! I'm a member of SeeD, just like you." _Come on Quistis, you're here for a reason. Keep trying. _"Who knows, maybe we'll end up working together," she said weakly.

Squall looked as though he would care a little less if she'd killed herself in front of him. "…Oh really?"

_Oh Hyne, he really is a heartless bastard. _"Is that all you're going to say?" she asked, disbelieving that anyone could be that cold.

He shrugged. "If that's how it was decided, you have to abide by it."

_Now I'm being lectured on SeeD protocol by someone who's only just become a SeeD. _"They told me I failed as an instructor." _Because of Seifer. _"Basically, that I lacked leadership qualities." _Because of Seifer. _"I was a SeeD at 15. Got my instructor license at 17…" She gave a hollow laugh. "It's only been a year since I got it. I wonder where I went wrong…" _Threats didn't work. Praise didn't work. I gave him everything. I slept with him for fuck's sake. Would it have helped if I'd cut open my wrists and bled for him? _"I…did my best," she finished, shrugging, knowing how juvenile it sounded. She looked up to find Squall looking blankly at the ground. "Are you even listening?"

"Are you done yet…?"

She felt her jaw drop.

"I don't want to talk about it. What am I supposed to say about other people's problems?"

She couldn't even summon anger, just shock. No wonder she was able to predict what he was going to say next – the man was a robot! "I'm not asking you to _say _anything. I just want you to _listen_."

Squall looked at her like she was something he'd found on the bottom of his shoe. "Then go talk to a wall."

She felt total incomprehension. "Aren't there times when you want to share feelings with someone?" _If you _have _feelings? _

"Everyone has to take care of themselves. I don't want to carry anyone's burden." He turned and walked away.

_I guess we've just discovered why he has no friends._ She leaned back and slid down the wall, tears filling her eyes. She felt like she needed Seifer more than ever. She needed his arms to hold her while she sobbed her heart out, and then she needed him to tell her it would be ok. Not thinking about what she was doing, she took out the vodka and drank all three bottles straight, ignoring the burn in her throat. "You bastard, Seifer. Did you ever think passing the exam was important to someone else but you?" she whispered brokenly.

A scream shattered the silence. "Somebody help!"

Quistis, the alcohol not yet affecting her, got up and dashed toward the sound. She found Squall and Seifer – she couldn't imagine what Seifer was doing there – facing a Granaldo and three Raldos. She got out her whip and joined the battle. Seeing them, the girl – looking strangely familiar to Quistis's eyes – looked shocked to see them. "Seifer! Squall! Quisty!"

_Quisty? I've never been called Quisty in my life. _

After the battle, two people wearing white versions of the SeeD uniform ran in. "It's not safe here. Please, let's go," one of them pleaded to the girl.

She cast another searching look at the three of them, then nodded, a disappointed look on her face. "Alright."

"Who was that?" Quistis asked.

Squall was already gone. She sighed. "Never mind then."

She looked at Seifer, quickly checking him for wounds. There weren't any, so she told herself that she didn't care anyway and made to follow Squall. A hand closed on her arm. "Quistis, wait."

She spun around angrily. "What, Seifer?!"

"I just want to talk to you."

"Yeah well I don't want to talk to you."

He met her anger with his own. "Mind telling me _why _you're trailing off after Puberty Boy?"

"I don't see that it's any of your business," she said coldly.

"Of course it's my business. Look, I'm sorry about the exam, but-"

She gave a shrill laugh. "Oh, the exam, the exam! Of course, it would have to be about you, wouldn't it, Seifer?! It's not as if anyone else lost anything!"

"What are you talking about, Quistis?"

She grabbed his collar and dragged him down a few inches. "I'm not an instructor anymore, Seifer!" she hissed.

"What? Why?"

She let go. "Why the _fuck _do you think?! 'Lack of leadership skills.' And you are the _only _one of my students who didn't pass today. You do the Hyne-damned math."

Anger overtook shock that she was blaming him. Didn't she think he felt guilty enough without her adding _more_?! "So why the hell didn't you come talk to me? Why run off to Leonhart?!"

"Why the hell do you think I ran to Squall?!" she demanded. "Do you have idea what you do, Seifer?! What you leave in your wake?"

He opened his mouth to issue a scathing retort, but she carried on speaking. "You come into the room, and it's like you light _everything _up, and you burn with this intensity that makes everything else just _shrivel_, and nothing else matters! Do you understand that?! _Nothing_, Seifer! Not Garden, not the exams, absolutely _nothing_ except you and your…_radiance_!"

Her whole body was shaking with rage, colour flaring high in her cheeks and angry tears trapped in her eyes. "Quistis, I-"

"But then you go! You- blow out like a tornado, and after all the fire, after the heat and the _passion_ is gone, all that's left behind is ashes! You've consumed me, Seifer! What do I have left now? Do you understand me now, Seifer?! Because that's what fire does, it's what you do! However much warmth you bring when you're around – all you're capable of is _destruction_! And you need to ask _why _I talked to Squall? And yeah, maybe he doesn't burn, or make me feel the way you do- but maybe I don't want to feel that way anymore!"

There was ringing silence in the training centre. Till Seifer broke it, his voice quiet and wary. "What exactly are you saying?"

Quistis's head went down, and when she looked back up, it was with sadness in her eyes. "That I need to think."

She turned and exited alone, walking slowly back to her dorm, weighed down by a heavy heart and a pounding headache. When she opened the door, nausea pushed bile up her throat, and she want to the bathroom, lifted the toilet seat and threw up violently. When, an hour later, she finally stopped vomiting, her words came back to her to haunt her with a vengeance. _All you're capable of is destruction. _

She closed her eyes and cursed herself, numb tears rolling down her cheeks. A dread sense of foreboding overtook her, and she sat on the bathroom floor with her arms wrapped around her stomach, shaking. She didn't know anything, and it was completely unlike her to rely on feelings – but something was going to happen. Something worse than bad. And soon.

"What have I done?"

**A/N: Another chappie done. Hope you liked it, and don't worry, Quistis IS going to get her act together, 'cause lets face it she's being rather pathetic at the moment isn't she? REVIEW please! **


	10. Departures

**Chapter Ten**

Seifer watched Quistis go with a hard, cold dagger of anger and hurt stabbing at his core. She needed to think? What the fuck did that mean? He was still angry that she was blaming him for losing her instructor's license, but…the idea of her not teaching anyone anymore was…odd. It would be like a crucial part of Garden missing. Until he was twenty he still had a shot at SeeD, but he wasn't sure he wanted to bother if she wasn't going to be the one to teach him. Who else would spar with him the way she did? Other instructors had either just given up trying to control him or booted him out of their class. Quistis was the only one who hadn't washed her hands of him.

Except now it looked as though she had.

He scowled, shoving Hyperion into its sheath with unnecessary force. _I refuse to feel fucking guilty. If they fired her it's because she's a shitty instructor. Mediocre. _

_**You don't believe that, Seifer – just as you do not truly believe you do not love her. There is little point in this self-denial.**_

Seifer scowled again. _Shut up, Tiamat. _

_**Why? Does the truth hurt, young one? **_

_I _said_, shut the fuck up! _

_**No. You must face the truth of yourself if you're ever to become a man, let alone a SeeD. **_

_Alright, here's the truth: Fuck her. She wants to burn the bridges, then they're fucking burned._

There was a thunderous silence, and Seifer sighed, now regretting the fact that he'd just possibly offended his best ally. Shaking his head and deciding to just deal with it tomorrow, he stalked from the training centre and toward his dorm. The male and female dorms were on opposing sides of Garden, so it meant he had to go all the way past where the ball was being held. If the scowl on his face was engraved any deeper then it would probably get stuck on his face permanently. The music began coming louder, and part of him was tempted to literally run past it as fast as he could – but pride wouldn't let him. Damn it, he might not be a SeeD, but fuck off if anyone thought he was going to run from them. He strode past the hall deliberately, if a little faster than perhaps he ordinarily would have done.

A voice called after him. A voice that he hadn't heard in a while. A voice that under any other circumstances would have made him wince and cringe.

Rinoa.

He'd broken up with her, and as far as he could tell, she hadn't seen any reason why they had to stop being together. He couldn't say he'd missed her all that much – it was true that she had a kind of…draw, he supposed, but it wasn't particularly strong. They hadn't fit. If there had been any kind of void left by her presence, Quistis had filled it and then some. Sometimes he felt like he had more Quistis in him than Seifer. Quistis was…Quistis was…

And that was it. That was the problem. Because as many things as Quistis was, as much as she did and inspired in him, at the moment… Rinoa had come in at just the right – or just the wrong – time.

So Seifer turned to greet his ex-girlfriend with a huge smile on his face. "Rin!"

"Oh my Hyne, Seifer!" She ran to him and wrapped her arms around his middle with crushing force.

"Ooph! Rinoa, can't breathe!"

She let go and beamed at him. Even if he was more happy about her timing than to actually see her, he had to admit she looked good. A short white dress sat well on her figure, and her dark hair contrasted well with the light material. Her radiant smile only made her prettier. Brunette, instead of blonde. Pretty in a friendly way, instead of majestic beauty. Blunt kindness, instead of razor-sharp intelligence. She was so _un_like Quistis that she was the perfect antidote.

"It's so great to see you!" she smiled.

"You too! How come you're here?" he asked.

"I came to hire SeeD," she said. "It was the graduation ball so I thought I'd dress up!" she said, gesturing at herself.

"Yeah…you look good, Rin."

She grinned. "Thanks! So do you!" Her smile faded a little. "I was kinda…thinking I might see you in there."

He managed not to flinch. "Nah, didn't quite make it this time."

"Oh. Well I'm sure you'll make it next time!" she said, the cheeriness back again.

He smiled, barely restraining the urge to roll his eyes. That was Rinoa. Perky to a fault at times. "Thanks, Rin. How come you need to hire SeeD?"

"To help with the Owls of course." She sighed and looked down for a minute. "My father's ordered more troops into Timber. We need help, and SeeD was the first thing that popped into my head. Headmaster Cid agreed to help, especially since I can't really afford SeeD."

Seifer frowned. "What?" That wasn't right. SeeD was a mercenary force. If you couldn't afford them then it was tough cheese. What Cid was doing was going against every rule he himself had set down. It didn't make sense.

"Yeah, he said he understood and that it was a cause close to his heart anyway. It was really nice of him, I thought."

"Yeah…" Seifer was no longer listening properly, still frowning. It _was _really nice of him, and there could be no denying that Cid was a nice guy, but Seifer had never heard of him doing anything like that before now. "Seifer?" Rinoa asked, looking questioningly up at him.

"Sorry, Rin, drifted off."

Her face was nervous again. "Um, I'm actually really glad I ran into you," she said. _Uh-oh. _"I've been thinking a lot about you lately, and I was hoping…maybe…you might want to…give it another shot?"

A faint urge to do so ran through him. It would certainly let him get back at Quistis. But even Seifer wasn't that big of an ass. It wouldn't be fair to Rinoa or Quistis. Besides, the idea of cheating on her…whether it was with Rin or just some hooker…there was no way he could. They'd never set any rules to their relationship, or even given it a name, but there was no way he'd sleep with anyone else given how strongly he felt about Quistis. Not that he'd ever told her that. Not that he ever would.

He sighed and put his hands on Rinoa's shoulders. "Rin…you know I think you're a great girl and everything, but I just don't feel that way about you anymore."

Her shoulders slumped. "Really?" She looked up suddenly and before he knew it her lips were on his and she was kissing him more passionately than she had at any point in their relationship.

He took a step back and pushed her gently but firmly away. "Rinoa. I meant it. I've moved on, and you should too."

She sighed. "I know…It's just…I think I could use having someone with your confidence around sometimes."

Seifer felt a pang of sympathy. "Hey…if you need me, just call, ok? I'm still a friend, Rin. I mean it. Call and I'll answer."

Her mouth twisted slightly, then she gave a small smile. "Ok…I will." She looked up at him. "I guess I should go."

"I'll walk you out."

They walked in a slightly more comfortable experience down to the turnstiles. When she stopped, Rinoa gave him a hug that made him feel instantly uncomfortable once more. "Thanks, Seifer," she said, her voice slightly muffled.

"Hey, no probs," he replied, patting her back quickly. He cleared his throat when she didn't move. "So…you should probably be getting on that train, huh?"

"Yes, I should. Bye, Seifer."

He waved her off with a definite feeling of relief. As he walked back to his dorm, though, he found the relief changing to anger and resentment. Aimed specifically at one blonde-haired instr- _ex_-instructor. She'd basically just broken up with him, and then his pretty, sweet (if a little clingy), wanting-to-get-back-together ex-girlfriend turned up, and kissed him, and he'd pushed her away, because of _Quistis._ What the hell was wrong with him? He, Seifer Almasy, had just turned down the chance of getting laid, all for some chick who couldn't give two shits about him? What was next, the sky falling down? There had to be some kind of cataclysm after that.

"All for some bitch who doesn't care," he muttered. "You're a fucking idiot, Almasy."

Before he knew where he was going or what he was doing, he found himself kicking a door off his hinges. Had to be a janitor's closet, since every other door in Garden was made out of metal. Still, it had helped calm him down. Destroying things always did that – something about channelling mental anger into a physical form. Healthier than just bottling it up anyway.

Apparently the Garden Faculty member that had just seen him didn't think so. "What the hell do you think you're- Oh. Almasy. I should have known." From beneath his shaded hat, he sucked in a breath as he surveyed the damage. It was pretty spectacular. The entire door was lying on the floor, its hinges broken and splintered, and the clear mark of several boot imprints upon it. Seifer couldn't say that he cared all that much. The Faculty member looked at him accusingly. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"I wasn't."

"You're damn lucky Headmaster Cid has a soft spot for you," the shorter man snarled. "Otherwise you'd be out of her so fast the door wouldn't have time to hit you in the ass."

"Whatever." _Damn. Now I'm turning into Leonhart. _All the aggression that had drained away with the demise of the door had now all come roaring back again. He briefly considered beating the man senseless, then decided that that definitely _would _get him kicked out. _Not worth it. _

"Destruction of Garden property is a punishable offense. Disciplinary room, first thing tomorrow."

"For how long?"

"All of bloody eternity if I have my way. Now get out of here."

For once, Seifer did as he was told, stalking away and into his dorm. He fell into an angry, restless, winding sleep, broken frequently with frustrating periods of wakefulness.

--

By dawn the following day, Quistis woke up still in the bathroom, her head pillowed on her arm and the rim of the toilet seat. She wasn't sure how the stench of her own vomit had not woken her up, because now that she was awake it was making her nauseous once more. For the next ten minutes the tiny bathroom was filled with the sounds of retching. By the time Quistis emerged, she was pale and still not happy. At all. In any way. Certainly there was no way she could face her SeeD duties today – she was far too ill for that. Xu was the one who sorted out all the instructor schedules-

Quistis stopped in the middle of dialling Xu's number, then slowly hung up. _Not an instructor anymore, Quistis_, she scolded herself. She sat on the edge of her bed and sighed. Not Xu, then. Eventually she remembered who she was supposed to phone now that she was an ordinary SeeD. She explained that she was sick. The Garden Faculty on the other end berated her slightly since the only person in the disciplinary room was Seifer. Quistis sighed, thinking that she shouldn't be surprised and too tired to really listen to what was said. Eventually a more sympathetic person came to the phone and inquired if she was ok. Quistis assured them that it was just a twenty-four hour bug and promised to go and see the doctor – having no intention to do so and then curled in a ball on her bed. Unsurprisingly, she had a very stiff neck and needed to sleep for about a thousand years.

About two hours later, she woke up feeling much refreshed and more alive. More resolute. She was Quistis Trepe. She would not fall apart like this, dammit. Instructing was a job. It was something she could earn back if she proved she had the necessary qualities. Granted, Seifer had been the trigger of her getting fired, but if it was true what Cid had said, then it wasn't fair to blame him. She was a SeeD now – she'd been one for over two years before instructing even came into it. She could be one now, especially since Seifer was now someone else's responsibility, she could relax. It could only lessen the strain on their relationship. She could just be… _And now it gets complicated again. _What was she? His lover? His fuck-buddy? His girlfriend? She couldn't imagine being anyone's girlfriend. She wasn't young enough to be anyone's girlfriend. It was as alien to her as the concept of ever having children. She was mentally too old to be a girlfriend, and too hard to be a mother.

Taking a deep breath, she told herself to pull together. She still felt ill. She couldn't face eating. Fresh air. Fresh air seemed like a good idea. _I'll go for a walk. _

Which is how she found herself walking slowly through Balamb half an hour later. Through sheer force of habit, she'd dressed in her fighting gear, her whip coiled at her hip. There were a lot of people, it seemed, all milling about and going about their business. She smiled at a tiny girl clinging to her mother's hand, who gazed back with huge green eyes, not quite daring to smile at her. Almost exactly the same shade of emerald as Seifer's, she thought.

As if thinking his name could summon him, she suddenly caught sight of a familiar golden-blond head walking swiftly down Balamb High Street. _Where on earth is he going? _she frowned. Moving swiftly, she began following him carefully. Even so, his face flicked in her direction for a moment, and she felt sure that he'd seen her. Whether he had or not, though, he sped up dramatically. She almost lost him several times, but eventually spotted him as a speck in the distance heading swiftly toward the train station. _He's surely not thinking of leaving Balamb? Skipping detention is one thing, but it looks like he's not even planning on going back to Garden yet! _She came to the only conclusion she could; she had to stop him. She could not let the man she loved throw his entire future away, whatever he thought he was doing.

She made it onto the platform just behind him – he'd been slowed down by his need to buy a ticket, whereas she'd just flashed her SeeD ID. She stopped about five feet behind him.

--

"What in Hyne's name are you doing, Seifer?"

The voice made him wince and stop in his tracks involuntarily. Looked like he hadn't managed to lose Quistis after all. Damn it but that that woman was good at what she did. He turned around, smirk plastered on carefully, to see her fuming at him. "Getting on a train, what's it look like?"

"Exactly why are you getting on a train to Timber of all places?"

Exactly why he was getting on a train to Timber was part moral outrage, part lust for glory. He couldn't believe that Cid had only sent three SeeDs. The other part... He figured that maybe SeeD wasn't where his destiny lay. There had to be something else he could do, some other way he could prove himself. If he couldn't find it in Balamb, he'd try Timber. It was as good a place to start as any.

Quistis was still talking. "Especially when you're supposed to be in the disciplinary room I might add."

"Yeah, I escaped." Then his eyes narrowed. "Exactly how do you know that?"

For the first time during their argument, Quistis's face lost the anger, and gained the blush of embarrassment. "I…was supposed to be the SeeD supervising today."

"So why weren't you? Because it looks to me that you're not in position to lecture me when you're shirking things yourself, Trepe."

"I was sick," she replied defensively.

"But you're not anymore. How convenient."

"I was sick, Seifer!" she repeated.

There was the sound of a whistle, and the guard patrolling on the platform shouted, "All aboard please! All aboard!"

Quistis looked at her errant lover. "Don't get on the train."

"You know, I think I really want to," he replied. Walking toward the train doors, he pressed the yellow button. They hissed open.

Quistis spoke again. "Seifer, I'm warning you, do not get on that train."

He said nothing, but got on the train and turned around to give a smirk full of arrogance and challenge. He knew full well it would be more than enough to infuriate her, and already he could see her fists balling. "Damn it, Seifer!" She sprinted onto the train in time to slip through the doors before they slid closed once more. She turned around to see that Seifer had disappeared. She growled and headed down the train looking for him.

She found him in the SeeD carriage. Or rather, waiting outside of it, apparently for her to open the door with her SeeD ID. "Why the hell did you run off?" she demanded, pulling it out. If they were stuck on this train, at least for a while, then they could at least travel in comfort.

"I figured you'd probably grab me and pull me out of the door."

She reflected. She probably would have. "You're an ass."

He smirked and lifted an eyebrow. "That's eloquent."

"Doesn't make it less true," she retorted, moving into the carriage.

Seifer followed her, throwing himself down on a seat. "Comfy."

"Don't get used to it," she warned, "We're getting off at the next stop." **(A/N I know there aren't any stops between Balamb and Timber in the game, but it works better if there are here.)**

He snorted. "You can."

She huffed out a sigh, squeezing her eyes shut for a moment. She sat down on the bed and rubbed the bridge of her nose a few times. "Alright, I'll bite."

Seifer looked up, but said nothing as she continued. "_Why _are you going to Timber?"

"I think a friend of mine is in trouble, and I'm going to help her."

"Her?" She winced as she said it – but she couldn't help it. It was a kneejerk reaction, any woman would have the same one. Her man, and there was a _she _involved.

Seifer's smirk was bitter. "Yeah, Trepe, a _she_. As hard as it might be to accept, someone does want me around."

"How is she in trouble?" Quistis asked, ignoring the barb.

"She's got the whole of the Galbadian military after her and three dumbasses watching her back."

"Three dumb- Oh. These three wouldn't happen to be Squall, Zell Dincht and Selphie Tilmitt would they?" she asked shrewdly.

"That's them. As I said: dumbasses."

"And one more person – not even a qualified SeeD – is going to make a difference to that, is it?" He said nothing, just glared at the floor. Quistis sighed and shifted a little. "Seifer, please, before you do anything rash…is this person really a good enough friend?"

"Rinoa," he said abruptly.

"What?"

"Her name is Rinoa," he said, finally meeting her eyes. "And yeah, she is good enough a friend. And even though we might be broken up," he sneered, warming to his theme, "I still care about her. A lot. Unlike you I don't measure people against what they can and can't do for me, Trepe."

Quistis narrowed her eyes. "Well I don't know about that, Almasy. For some Hyne-forsaken reason I care about you and it's pretty obvious you're not capable of doing anything for me or anyone else."

"Oh I don't know. I think I'm pretty good at _creating destruction_," he hissed.

That brought Quistis up sharply, and there was loud, long and tense silence. Then she spoke again. "Seifer, I'm sor-"

"Don't," he said heavily. "Don't say it. I don't want it."

"But I just-" she started, looking startled and lost.

"You wouldn't have said it if you hadn't meant it," he said dully, anger still redolent in his tone.

"But I didn't mean it! Seifer, I was angry and I was _drunk_ for fuck's sake! I didn't mean any of it!"

"Then you wouldn't have said it. Whether you meant it or whether it was just the heat of the moment makes no difference, Quistis. You still said it," he replied harshly.

"Yes it does! How can you not see that?! It makes all the difference in the world!" she said, her tone pleading.

He said nothing, just threw her a look of deepest disdain that made her feel about five inches tall and turned his face away. Self-loathing filled her as her face fell as low as her boots. Her organs seemed suddenly to be made of lead. _I'm so stupid! _Eventually she sighed. "Why are we doing this to each other?"

He snorted. "I'm not doing anything to _you_."

She shook her head sadly. "Yes you are. You know you are."

It wasn't her words; he'd already decided that he wasn't going to listen to anything she had to say. What captured his attention – and pulled at the heartstrings that had been so finally attuned to her – was the tone of her voice. It wasn't like she'd given up on him. It didn't sound as though she was angry.

It sounded like she was drowning.

He could almost hear her meaning, what she wasn't saying lurking behind the words. _Make no mistake. I would still bleed for you if you asked it of me. But you must understand my heart is breaking. I am falling, my love. I need you to catch me. _She didn't need to vocalise it. The depth in her ocean-blue eyes said it all.

There were many things Seifer could do, could resist and withstand. The woman he loved standing in front of him, begging him to forgive her, he couldn't. There was no way his iron will would not buckle under that. He sighed and looked away, finally nodded. "I know. I know you're sorry."

Quistis sighed in relief and went to him gratefully, burying herself in his arms and soaking up his scent. His fingers slid into her hair, running through the golden strands rhythmically, as much to soothe himself as her. She pulled back eventually, smiling. "Come on. We can get off at the next stop and head back to Balamb from there."

Seifer frowned, letting go of her. "Quistis, I meant what I said. A friend of mine is in Timber, and she needs help. I'm going to help her."

"She has three SeeDs!" Quistis protested, the spark of jealously beginning to burn slightly once more.

"Three _rookie _SeeDs!" he retorted. "Against the whole of the Galbadian army! That's bullshit and you know it!"

"That's not up to you to decide! At the next stop, Seifer, we are getting off this train!"

"Sorry, _Instructor_, I was under the impression I didn't have to follow your orders anymore," he sneered.

If Seifer had been expecting their normal pattern of a huge argument followed by amazing angry sex that somehow made everything alright again, he was disappointed.

Quistis wasn't a violent person. She was a trained mercenary, yes, but that didn't mean she enjoyed hurting people. She considered herself very patient. But even patient people have thresholds. Though it was buried deep down, Quistis had a blazing inferno of a temper. And Seifer had always known just how to spark it. Another thing to bear in mind – she also had a _really _mean left hook.

1 temper + 1 hard punch + 1 _intensely _maddening lover 1 unconscious Seifer Almasy.

It was a mark of how angry she was that Quistis didn't even care. In fact she let out a scream of rage and kicked him twice more in the leg just to make sure. Then proceeded to swear at him in four different languages. Finally breathing hard, she turned around and pressed her forehead against the cool glass of the window to calm down. After a few moments she turned around and looked down on her unconscious lover, who worryingly was showing no signs of coming back around. Quistis sighed and knelt back down next to him. "Seifer."

Nothing.

She tapped his face lightly. "Seifer, wake up."

Nothing.

"Damn it," she muttered. Not a single potion on her either. And her hand _really _hurt. Looking around, the best place to put him seemed to be the bed at the back of the carriage. Thanking Hyne for the coat he wore, she grabbed it by the lapels and dragged him backward toward it, muttering all the way. "Did you know you weigh a bloody ton, Almasy? Maybe if you ate less…"

Eventually, after much dragging and pushing and pulling, and more muttering, she managed to get him on the bed. The stop between Balamb and Timber had come and gone long ago, so they were stuck on it until it got to Timber. Though if Seifer was unconscious at least he couldn't go gallivanting off after his ex-girlfriend. That idea was _not _something Quistis was at all happy about anyway. Not that she'd ever admit it to Seifer. She sighed and sat on the bed next to his still-slumbering form. She did feel guilty now. She shouldn't have lost it like that – even if Seifer was pissing her off, it wasn't fair to take out everything that had happened on him. Even if her losing everything was at least partially his fault.

Before she knew they were coming, hot, scalding tears were pouring down her cheeks, and her shoulders were shaking with sobs. Everything was gone. If Seifer hadn't destroyed it then she had herself. He'd taken her job, so she'd retaliated. _Maybe I was right, _she thought. _Maybe all we can do is hurt each other. Maybe Shiva was right – it _is _too passionate. _

Ten minutes later, there was a groan from the bed, and then a "what the fuck was that" coming from the bed.

"Seifer! Are you alright?" Quistis asked, quickly wiping the tears away from her face.

Seifer sat up slowly, one hand over his nose. "Did you _hit_ me, Trepe?"

Quistis did have the good grace to look ashamed. "Yes. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to lose my temper, I just…"

"You hit me! I think you broke my fucking nose!"

"Of course I didn't," she snapped.

"How would you fucking know?"

Quistis sighed and made to take his hands away from his face. "Here, let me-"

"I don't think I need your kind of fucking help, Trepe!"

"Seifer, please. Just let me help."

He glowered at her but eventually let her gently take his face between her hands and examine it. Apart from a pretty bruise forming, there didn't appear to be anything wrong. "I'm sorry," she said quietly.

He grunted, but said nothing for a few minutes. Then: "I shouldn't have called you Instructor."

It was as good as an apology, and Quistis nodded once. The silence stretched out and became more brittle as the train continued on its way. As they were pulling into Timber, Seifer stood up and headed to the doors. "Seifer, please don't," Quistis said.

"You know I'm going to, Quis."

"But it's a stupid decision!" she protested. "You've got no mandate to be here!"

"I have a friend in trouble!" he snapped. "That pretty much beats any stupid mandate."

"Garden is _not_ going to see it that way! They might not let you back in for another semester!"

"Well maybe I'm not fucking bothered about coming back!"

"You- What? Seifer what are you-" Comprehension dawned, and she paled. "You're leaving Garden," she stated quietly. "Permanently."

Her calming down had calmed him as well, and the tone of his voice lowered too. But his words, when they came, were a million times more spiteful. "Nothing to stay for, Instructor."

Looking back on it, she could have said 'stay for me', but knew better than to think any good would come of it. Instead she simply nodded once and didn't turn when he walked past her. When she heard the door open though, she couldn't stop the words. "Seifer."

"Yeah?"

She still hadn't faced him, nor was she planning to. "I love you." It wasn't a plea for him to stay. It just was. Then she turned to see a serious expression on his face. _At least he's serious about this if nothing else_, she thought.

"I know." He sighed, then walked to her to wrap her in a crushing embrace, meeting her lips with his with a soft passion that nevertheless stole the breath from both of them, and carried more power than any kiss they'd shared before. He gazed into the sapphire pools of her eyes deeply one last time, and she understood. Though he'd never say it, he loved her. Then he turned away, grey trenchcoat swirling around his legs, and walked out of her life.

**A/N: It took me sooooooooo long to write this chapter, and I'm still not 100 percent happy with it. Especially Seifer's reasons... But hey, at least kick-ass Quisty is back! Let me know what worked/ what didn't & review please!**


	11. A Place of No Return

**Chapter Eleven**

"Out of her life" did not last long. In fact it lasted as long as it took for the train guard to come bumbling along, checking the carriages for occupants that hadn't disembarked the train. "Oh, I'm sorry, ma-" He remembered that this was the SeeD carriage and that she was accordingly a SeeD. "-Officer. But the train has arrived." He took a few steps closer to the blonde woman, who still hadn't moved. Was he imagining her shoulders shaking slightly? "A-And I've just been informed that the city has been placed under quarantine. The Galbadian Army will be wanting to interview everyone on board."

Still no movement.

"Officer?"

Was she…crying?

"Ma'am!" he said sharply.

At his tone, she looked up straightaway, no evidence of tears on her cheeks. She stood straighter than he could have ever managed and nodded. "Yes, thank you." As she moved to brush past him, she pressed twenty Gil into his hand and looked hard at him. "You didn't see me."

"No, Officer." It seemed safest to agree.

She was gone before the guard could blink.

--

Once Quistis was away from the train station, dodging several Galbadian squads on the way, she found a quiet alley and leaned against the wall, closing her eyes. _What on Gaia am I going to do now? _She was stuck in Timber with no way back, and she didn't even have any idea where Seifer might have gone. "Fuck," she muttered. Several punches to the wall later, she was straightening her clothes and preparing to leave the alley. She couldn't skulk there forever, and she had a wayward cadet to find and drag back to Garden. Not that that was SeeD procedure. "Garden Code, Article 8, line 7," she whispered. But there was no way she was going to G-Garden without Seifer. If she did that Hyne only knew what would happen to Timber – it was already a warzone. Seifer was quite capable of turning it into a crater.

She ducked back into the shadows with a sharp intake of breath when another armed squad rushed past, weapons drawn. One of them was speaking into a radio. "…that's right, sir, an incursion at the TV station. Yes, the president _is _there! Only one assailant at the moment, sir, but intelligence suggests more on the way. Request _immediate _backup, sir…"

Well, it was as good a clue as any, she supposed. Squaring her shoulders, Quistis followed them as covertly as possible, though it wouldn't have been necessary, since they were making more noise than a bull in a china shop. When, after many ducking behind corners and almost losing her military escorts half a dozen times, she finally caught sight of the station. Quistis wasn't really one for awe, but even so her mouth – it was easily that largest building she'd ever seen, Garden aside, and dominated over the city.

_Right, _she thought, looking at the Galbadian squad. _I'm afraid you've outlived your usefulness, gentlemen._

She snuck into the building the same way they did; through the back, and silently. When the squad split up to search for who she hoped was Seifer, she thanked Hyne silently before going after one of the soldiers. One hand slammed into the back of his neck just below his helmet, and he crumpled with a wheezy sigh. She caught him and lowered him to the ground quickly. She smirked as she found handcuffs on the man, then used them to cuff him to a handy nearby pipe. She took his radio too, thinking that she could use it to monitor Galbadian transmissions. "Right," she said in a satisfied tone. "Next."

There had been five men in the squad, and ten minutes later, she'd taken out two of the others. Unfortunately, she'd had no choice but to kill one, though she winced at the amount of noise her whip made as it snapped through the air. Damn echoing corridors. A noise caught her attention from around another corner, and she peered carefully around it to see the sergeant of the squad standing there, fiddling with something at his belt. She frowned, leaning forward a little more to try and see. He cursed and then staggered suddenly, collapsing against the wall and slumping down it. Startled, Quistis waited a few moments, but he didn't move anymore than that, and she couldn't see if he was breathing. Biting her lip, she considered, then darted forward quietly to kneel at his side.

Immediately, there was the sound of a gun being cocked, and then the cold of a gun barrel pressed against her skull. "Hands up, woman."

Oddly, an image of Seifer's mocking face appeared in her mind. _Congratulations, Instructor. You walked right into that one. _Mentally kicking herself, Quistis put her hands up and stood slowly. The 'unconscious' sergeant stood as well. "Well done, soldier," he said, giving an approving nod to the man behind her.

"What shall we do with her, sir?"

"Take her back to HQ and interrogate her. Find out who she is and what she's doing here. Search her first, though."

"Yes, sir."

While the sergeant held a gun at her, the other man did a search of Quistis's body, being far too hands-on in certain areas. She could only promise him a very slow death with her eyes. Then her blood ran cold as he found her SeeD ID. "She's SeeD, sir!" he exclaimed.

_Shit._ The idea of Galbadia launching an attack on Garden was chilling, and right now there was nothing she could do to prevent it. The sergeant's eyes were wide as he turned to her and began demanding answers. "Why is SeeD in Tim-"

He never got to finish his sentence, as a whooshing noise came from nowhere, and he slumped forward with a shocked cry, a familiar blade buried in his back. Knowing who it was who'd rescued her, Quistis wasted no time, instead landing a hard punch into the midsection of the groping soldier. He doubled over with a cry of pain, she brought her knee up, slamming his head into it and breaking his nose. His head once more forced upward, she used her favourite left-hook to knock him out. Once he was on the floor, she kicked him once more, this time in the crotch. _For all women everywhere, slimeball_.

A smug voice caught her attention. "Now, not being a SeeD myself I'm no expert, but remind me what Garden Code, Article 3, line 46 says?"

She gritted her teeth and turned to face Seifer, pulling Hyperion from the back of the dead sergeant. "Under no circumstances approach a potential hostile without backup," she said, teeth clenched so tightly the words were muffled.

He smirked. "No wonder they fired you."

"Shut up, Seifer."

"Now is that any way to talk to your gallant rescuer?"

Ignoring that, she stepped toward him and grabbed a fistful of grey trenchcoat. "We're leaving," she ordered.

He wrenched himself from her grasp. "Oh no we're not."

"Oh yes we are!" she spat.

"No we're not."

"Yes, we are."

"Not."

"Are!"

He smirked. "Not."

"Ar- Damn you, Seifer. What the hell do you want in Timber anyway?!"

"Haven't we already had this discussion?"

"Well apparently nothing I told you sank in!"

"Well you always were bad that explaining things!"

Suddenly his eyes widened and Hyperion came up, pointing at something behind her. She whirled with a gasp, pulling out her whip as she did so, to see- an empty hallway. Running footsteps from behind her told her that Seifer had used a diversion and made his escape. Oldest trick in the book, and she'd fallen for it. "Son of a bitch!" she muttered. "Almasy, get your ass back here!" she yelled after him. She could have sworn she heard his mocking laughter echoing back to her through the metal corridors.

Sprinting as fast as she could after him, Quistis eventually crashed into a recording studio. The cameras were on and recording a man who looked familiar giving a speech. Instinct not to have her face splashed across the world's media forced her to slow down, and she skidded to a stop, assuming Seifer would do the same.

Apparently, she should have told Seifer of her assumptions, because he didn't stop, and instead just ran in front of the camera, slashing Hyperion in a deadly arc up into the chest of the nearest Galbadian soldier. _Oh my Hyne, what is he doing?! _She began running toward him, pulling her whip from her belt as she went.

Two more soldiers ran up behind Seifer and restrained his arms, while another ran toward him. Without pause, he brought his leg up to deliver a vicious kick; the soldier fell back, winded, but his comrades tightened their hold on his arms. Seifer only smirked. _Please, like I haven't been trained how to get out of this since the age of twelve. _Hooking his leg behind the knee of the soldier on his left took care of one – his arm now free, an elbow into the ribs of the other dispatched him as well. The confident expression on President Deling's face faltered, then vanished altogether as Seifer advanced and slid Hyperion neatly under his chin.

Quistis by this time had caught up with him, and turned to the Galbadian soldiers running up behind her, hoping to reason with them at least – it really didn't look as if Seifer was in the mood for reason right now. "Stay back!" she said. A few did as she said, but as she turned back to Seifer, it was to see him tighten his grip on Deling as more soldiers approached. "For the last time stay back!" she said. Couldn't the fools see he was on the edge of doing something stupid? "You'll only provoke him!" Nobody took any notice, and Quistis got desperate. Seeing the camera still on, an idea sparked in her brain. "Timber team, are you watching? Get the hell over here right now!" Knowing Squall, she added, "You _have _permission! I need your help!"

When Squall and the others burst into the room a few moments later, Quistis could have passed out from relief. If it did come to a fight, Squall was the only one who stood a chance against Seifer. "We need to restrain him!" she ordered.

Squall looked past her at Seifer, apparently totally unimpressed. "What do you think you're doing?" he asked, in a tone that did not imply he cared.

Seifer rolled his eyes. How thick _was_ Leonhart? "It's obvious, isn't it?!" He looked at Rinoa and indicated the still-pinioned President. "What are you planning with this guy?"

"I get it!" Zell suddenly cried. _That's it, Chickenwuss, _Seifer thought viciously, _chime in at the exact wrong moment. _Unaware of how close he was to getting Hyperion through his neck, Zell continued. "You're Rinoa's-"

"Shut your damn mouth, chicken!" Seifer snarled.

Quistis, while secretly glad Seifer had broken in when he had, turned back to Squall. "He broke out of the disciplinary room," she explained. "Injuring many in the process."

Zell turned scarlet with rage. "You stupid idiot!" he yelled, clenching his fists.

Squall turned to him. "Shut up."

Zell, however, turned to Quistis. "Instructor, I know! You're gonna take this stupid idiot back to Garden, right?!"

Quistis could quite cheerfully have committed murder. _Of all the moronic things to say…_ Everyone else in the room also began shouting at the martial artist, while the President only smirked. "I see…you're all from Garden. Should anything happen to me, the entire of the Galbadian military will undoubtedly crush Garden. He glanced behind him. "You can let me go now."

Seifer dug the blade of Hyperion in deeper. "Nice going, you dumb chicken!" he sneered. "You and your big mouth! Take care of this, Instructor and Mr. Leader," he ordered. He grimaced slightly as he saw Quistis flinch again, but backed away, dragging Deling with him. Quistis immediately ran after him, then stopped in the doorway of the next studio. She didn't know what it was, but something about this room was extraordinarily _creepy_. Apparently Seifer felt it too, for he jumped at a tiny noise.

With good reason, since the drapes were…_rippling_?

Before anyone could move, a woman's shape stepped out from the shadows. "Poor, poor boy," she said. Although _said _wasn't enough, wasn't right. Her voice was lilting, singing, whispering and the softest talking all mixed together in a heady melody that invaded Seifer's mind immediately. Hyne…it was so beautiful…and so familiar…how?

Dimly, he heard Quistis's footsteps, and snapped out of it. "Stay away from me!" he said harshly.

The woman took a few gliding steps closer. "Such a _confused _little boy…" He _was _confused, he felt it now. "Are you going to step forward?" she asked, her eyes huge. That was the other thing – he couldn't _see _her eyes, but he could. Golden and glowing and utterly intoxicating. "Retreat? You have to decide."

"Stay back," he said, only much softer this time, with much less conviction.

Quistis ran further inside as she looked at the other woman. She was trouble, she could feel it. Worse still, Seifer seemed to be moving closer to the woman. Who was raising her arms, casting some kind of spell…Quistis darted forward, meaning to grab Seifer and pull him away. There was a blinding flash of light, and she slammed into a wall, then fell to her knees, winded. The bottom part of the woman's face was visible, and she smirked at Quistis's prone form, then turned her attention back to Seifer. He hadn't so much as glanced at the blonde woman.

"The boy in you is telling you to come. The adult in you is telling you to back off. You can't make up your own mind," she told him. "You don't know the right answer."

Seifer swallowed. Suddenly he didn't. He needed guidance. Someone to tell him what to do. He'd never needed that.

"You want help, don't you?" the woman asked in honeyed tones. "You want to be saved from this predicament."

"Shut up!" Seifer said vehemently, as a small spark of his pride broke through.

The woman didn't seem to be perturbed. "Don't be ashamed to ask for help. Besides…you're only a little boy."

"I'm not…" Was he? Was he a boy? A man? He shook his head in a vain attempt to clear it. "Stop calling me a boy…"

Hyne, those _eyes _again. "You don't want to be a boy anymore?" she inquired hopefully.

"I am NOT a boy!" Seifer yelled, now more to prove to _her _that he wasn't. He couldn't stand the idea that this beguiling stranger think him a boy. Without his permission, Hyperion removed itself from the throat of the President, who immediately ran down the steps. He pushed past Quistis on his way, waking her up to the situation.

_Seifer, no. No don't walk towards her, don't let Hyperion fall, don't let the president go. Seifer, Hyne-dammit why aren't you fucking listening to me?! _It wasn't until she realised that she wasn't talking, that no-one else apart from the three of them was in the room and that Seifer hadn't so much as glanced at her since she'd begun screaming that she realised. She wasn't _moving_. Was she even breathing? In front of her, Seifer took another step toward the woman, and Quistis panicked. _Oh Hyne I can't stop him, I can't do _anything_! _ She was forced to watch in anguish as the woman kept dripping toxic honey into her lover's ear.

"Come with me…" the woman whispered. "Come with me to a place of no return. Bid farewell to your childhood."

_Seifer! Don't go with her! If you go, I won't…be able to…find you… _Quistis begged. She could feel tears gather, frozen into her eyes. She heard, with much relief, the sounds of the others coming in.

Before her, Seifer turned and waved at Squall. He didn't even glance at Quistis. It was as though he couldn't even see her. Without pausing, the shadowed woman cast another spell, freezing them all in place. Seifer turned and just…shimmered out of existence. _No! _Quistis screamed at the woman. _You can't take him, how dare you _take _him?! _

The woman looked down at her, and smirked. Quistis heard her voice in her own mind. _He is mine now, child. Mine. _

In no time at all, she too was gone.

--

**A/N: Boo hoo! The inevitable finally happened! Short-ish chapter, I know, but it was the right place to end it. Let me know what you think, though I am quite pleased about how I did the Edea bit. Tee hee. **

**Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease review!! **


	12. All Limbs Intact

**A/N: Just a quick note to any Chinese person who might be reading this: Congratulations and thank you for a wonderful Olympic Games. It was amazing. **

**Chapter Twelve**

As soon as she could move, Quistis rushed toward the drapes in the vain hope that it might have been a bad dream. There was nothing there. Quistis logical mind was insisting how impossible that was. She didn't notice the sound of voices behind her.

Selphie, noticing with her normal kindness the ashen shade of Quistis's face, walked up beside her. She heard the older woman muttering incoherently. "He…He just- It's not…just gone…how can…_Seifer_, and that- that woman…"

"Instructor Trepe!" Selphie cried. Quistis did blink and glance at her, but then immediately turned her attention back to running her fingers over the wall again, as if doubting its solidarity. Well, unsurprising, since two people had just disappeared through it. Eventually, and feeling horrible, Selphie did the only thing she could think of, and slapped Quistis's face – not hard, but with enough force to wake her up.

Quistis drew in a sharp breath and focused finally on the spiky-haired girl. She frowned for a moment. "Selphie Tilmitt isn't it?"

Selphie nodded. "Yes, Instructor."

Quistis's mouth tightened slightly. "Call me Quistis. W-What happened?"

"We were hoping you'd be able to tell us," Squall said, taking a step closer.

Quistis swallowed and shook her head. "I have no idea. Seifer…he had the president-"

"Yeah, we saw him run out," Zell interjected.

She wasn't listening. "But then…that woman…who was she? She started talking to Seifer, calling him forward…"

"And he just went with her?" Selphie asked, surprised.

Quistis shook her head. "No, I don't think he had a choice. It was almost like…it _was _a spell, even on me, I couldn't move, I-" She stopped and swallowed, then finally stepped away, collecting herself and paying attention to what Squall was saying. _Why couldn't she have take Squall? _she found herself asking bitterly. To…wherever it was she'd taken Seifer. _I swear, if she touches one __hair on his head I'll hunt her down. _

The dark-haired girl who had just run in was speaking, breathless. "They found our base. It's completely destroyed." She sounded upset, but not devastated – more like a child whose favourite toy had been taken away.

Selphie enquired after the other members of the group were alright, and soon after the five of them left. At the door, Quistis paused, sure she could feel green eyes on her. She cast one last glance at the now-still drapes and went after the others. Outside, the blue-clad girl's – whose name was apparently Rinoa – petulance seemed to be continuing. It was not having much impact with Squall. "We have to stay away from Timber for a while. Is there a safe place you can take me?" At Squall's blank-eyed stare, she folded her arms and achieved an annoyingly pretty pout. Its charm was belied by her next words. "This is an order from your client, _remember_?"

Squall heaved a sigh. "…Alright." _I'll just agree. It's easier than arguing with her anyway. _

Soon after they began making their way through Timber, Selphie Tilmitt sticking close to Quistis as if afraid for her sanity, for which the blonde was grateful. She did feel rather as if she were fraying rapidly. She kept jumping when they turned every corner, one hand constantly on the handle of her whip, and even that was trembling. By the time the group arrived at an inn, Quistis made some excuse and found a quiet corridor, then gave in to her shaking, having to lean against a wall to continue standing. Whatever it was that had just happened…was huge. She didn't know how, but she knew it in her bones. Every part of her body ached with dread anticipation. There was the sound of someone coming up the stairs, and she straightened to see Squall regarding her. He was at least six feet away from her, but she could still smell his aftershave, coming at her in waves. It was almost nauseating, and since when had Squall worn aftershave? She tried to shift surreptitiously away from him a little. _What is it with my senses lately? _Everything seemed to be making her sick.

Squall fixed her with an expectant look. "Why did he come?"

Trying not to cry, Quistis explained as best she could – she was probably the only person who'd be likely to know what had been going on in Seifer's head, but even she could only guess. "What's going to happen to him?" she asked in a whisper not directed at anyone.

Squall answered it though, with his usual tact. "He may already be dead," he said bluntly.

At the thought, bile pushed up in Quistis's throat, and she shoved past Squall to head for the nearest toilet. Though she dry retched a few times, she managed to fight back the urge to throw up. She could dimly make out Rinoa's voice, shouting at Squall. A wave of angry resentment mixed in with jealously rose up toward the dark-haired girl. _No, _Quistis reminded herself. _Whatever their past history, it is not Rinoa's fault Seifer decided to charge to Timber. _As an instructor she'd had to not play favourites – though perhaps not all that successful, it was still something she hoped she was capable of.

Sighing, she washed her face with cold water and looked at her haggard face blankly, not really seeing it. The SeeD took over, as it always did in times of crisis. _Who'd have thought that having a trained killer at your core would be comforting? _Next move: well, she knew what she had to do, and she knew what Squall's group had to do, especially if Rinoa wanted safety. Safety meant a Garden. A Garden at the moment meant Galbadia. _I wonder if Squall remembered that…? _

It transpired that Squall did not, and had to be prompted, but once he had, Quistis felt a tiny satisfaction that she had apparently managed to teach him something. Rinoa nodded. "I know the way. We can take the train and get off at East Academy."

"That still involves through the forest to the west of the station before we get to G. Garden," Quistis pointed out, sure that Rinoa would have forgotten that small fact. She wondered if the girl could even fight. Her skinny little wrists certainly didn't look as though they could support a weapon.

_**Be fair, Quistis. **_

_I am being fair. She's puny, _Quistis defended.

Shiva gave a soft chuckle. _**She is more than she appears. **_

_That would hardly be difficult. What exactly do you mean anyway, 'more'?_

**_You will see_. **

"Damn cryptic GFs," Quistis snarled under her breath.

By the time they got on the train, there had been a few skirmishes with the last remaining Galbadian soldiers, and Rinoa had indeed proven that she could handle a weapon. A coward's weapon, in Quistis's opinion, and one that kept her away from the action, but then she used a whip herself. Besides, a weapon was a weapon, and when they boarded, Rinoa had taken the first step toward gaining Quistis's – albeit reluctant – respect. When Quistis told her she'd obtained her ticket from Zone, Rinoa giggled. "He's into naughty magazines."

Quistis raised an eyebrow a fraction, the merest ghost of her smile flickering briefly on her face. A blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment. "I'll bear that in mind…"

When they were battling through the forest, Rinoa scored more brownie points by having a go at Squall when he continued his callousness, especially toward Zell, who was worrying himself to death that he might have doomed Garden. Their magnificent leader seemed not to care, instead informing Zell of the cold and brutal facts with what could only be described as cruelty. Hyne, why had Quistis ever bothered to try and stir up some humanity in him? There obviously was none.

She didn't have time for anymore reflection about the rest of the group, since suddenly her head was swimming and the ground was looking awfully comfortable. She dimly saw Squall hit the ground with a thud, before she too collapsed.

--

"Instructor? Instructor…"

Quistis drew in a sharp breath, cerulean eyes snapping open to see Zell's sky-blue ones looking down at her, concerned. "Hmm?" she managed.

He offered her a hand and hauled her up. "Are you alright, Instructor?"

"I'm fine. And it's Quistis, please." She looked over at Squall and Selphie, both discussing what they'd seen. It seemed as though they'd all had the same dream… "Doesn't seem like the first time for you all," she commented. "What is this?" she asked.

Even as the words left her mouth, she realised she didn't really care, since they were extremely close to G. Garden now. She'd spent a semester there at fourteen, and she knew her way around. She was fairly certain she could find someone who would tell her more about what the hell had happened at that damned TV station. The nervousness and tenseness that had been pushed back somewhat now returned in full force. She wanted to sprint toward it as fact as she could. When they _finally _arrived at the gates, she made sure she was the first one inside.

"Could you leave this one up to me?" The barely suppressed eagerness in her voice was clearly audible to everyone there, and they all stared at her. She swallowed. "Um, it's just that I've been here several times and I know the headmaster pretty well. I'll go and explain our situation."

Without waiting for anyone's permission – hell, if Squall had tried to give his she'd probably have punched him in that moment – she jogged off down the hallway and to the headmaster's office. _**You're going to arrive all ruffled, Quistis. **_

_Thank you for your concern, Shiva, but I am not you. If I find out what happened to Seifer I can bear to be a little less than composed. _

There was another of those sad silences that had been getting all-too-familiar lately filled her head. She had the feeling her GF knew a lot more than she was letting on. Annoyingly. Despite her words, she did stop to take a deep breath and smooth out her clothes before she walked up to the secretary. "Good afternoon."

"Good afternoon," the woman replied. "Can I help you?"

"Yes," Quistis said calmly, pulling out her SeeD ID. "SeeD Quistis Trepe reporting; base of operations Balamb Garden, and in need of an Article 8 assistance. Request immediate permission to see Headmaster Martine."

The woman gestured. "Take a seat, Officer. I'll just phone up and see if the headmaster's free."

A few moments later, Quistis was ascending the short flight of stairs that led to Martine's office, and the door was already open. The headmaster himself stood up and shook her hand warmly – far more warmly than she remembered, in fact. Deciding it didn't matter, she took a seat opposite him. "Thank you for seeing me so quickly, sir."

"Anything for one of our old students," he said. His face sobered. "I understand you've come from Timber?"

"Yes, sir. And…about that-"

"Please do not worry, Officer Trepe. While the incident was unfortunately filmed, it was quite clear to the Galbadian Government upon viewing the tape that you were endeavouring to stop any violence taken against President Deling, as were most of your comrades, including the official SeeD team sent to Timber. I have already been in contact with Headmaster Kramer, and while you yourself had no mandate to be there, you were acting for the best."

Quistis frowned; despite all Martine's assurances, she had a feeling she was not going to like what his next answer would be. "But…sir, the attack on the president…"

"Is being classified as an independent action. Only the assailant will bear responsibility for it."

"What? He- He's taking all the blame?" Her mouth gaped. She knew Seifer liked to be stupidly noble sometimes but this was enormous! He couldn't take this burden on his shoulders alone!

Martine's mouth was a grim line. "Yes. A courageous young man. A rebel, but he was courageous none the less." Quistis was speechless. Was Seifer really that desperate for glory that he was willing to spend Hyne-knew-how-long in prison? What would make him do that?! Was it her? _Oh Hyne what if it was me? _She forced herself to listen to what Martine was saying.

"But as to your problem, Officer, have no fear. G. Garden will help you and your team until you can return to Balamb. In fact I'm expecting a call from Headmaster Cid any time now."

Quistis rose, her thoughts still swirling around Seifer. Would she be able to see him? To be a witness at his trial? No, she didn't want to be a witness, if she did that then she'd have to tell the truth, and the truth did not reflect well on Seifer. But still, there had to be some way… Absently, she gave the SeeD salute and turned to the door.

At it, her feet froze. One word that Martine had said was burning in her mind. So brightly it hurt. She squeezed her eyes shut briefly. _Please Hyne don't let it be. _"W-was?"

"I'm sorry, Officer?"

She only half-turned her head. "You said 'was', sir. N-not 'is'. Does- does that mean-"

"There was a military tribunal; the sentence has been carried out," Martine said blandly.

Quistis had to hold the door frame to keep from falling. "Sentence?" she whispered.

The Galbadian headmaster got up and put a firm, encouraging hand on her back, gently propelling her out of the office. "Don't worry, Officer Trepe – he's already been executed."

The ability to breathe left her. As did her heartbeat. For an eternity frozen into one second, she died. _No. No no no no no, _please _no! _She didn't hear the door behind her close with a firm snap.

Shiva spoke quietly in her mind. _**I am sorry, Quistis. **_

Quistis didn't answer. She couldn't, because if she accepted her GF's condolences then it would mean that he wasn't coming back. That he was gone. Suddenly an idea slammed into her mind with glorious hope. _Shiva, I need you to do something for me._

When Shiva answered, it was wary. _**What is it? **_

_I need you to try and find Tiamat. I know you can sense other GFs' whereabouts. _

_**How? Not many mortals know that much about we Guardian Forces. **_

_I read a lot, _Quistis replied irritably. _But I need you to find Tiamat. I need you to tell me if he's still junctioned. Because if he is-_

_**Quistis, I understand why you want me to, but even if he still is, it doesn't mean that your lover is still alive.**_

_Yes it does. Seifer said Tiamat wouldn't junction with anyone else. _

_**I'm still not sure if this is a good idea. If I look then my power will be focused on that. I won't be able to-**_

_Shiva, just find him!_

_**Yes,**_ **Mistress**_, _came the frosty thought.

Quistis felt her GF leave the conversation and turn her attention elsewhere. She closed her eyes briefly and quickly wiped away the single tear that still lingered on her cheek. She pushed Quistis down, and let the SeeD overwhelm her. It was the only way she would survive, but the battle between heart and mind was terrible, and still hadn't been resolved by the time she rejoined the others.

"How'd it go?" Squall asked.

Quistis barely heard him, still in total shock. At the repetition of her name, her head snapped up. She took a deep breath a forced down her nausea. "They…understand our situation." She cleared her throat, nodding toward Zell's anxious face. "And Balamb Garden is safe. The attack on the president in Timber was classified…" Her voice almost failed again, but she kept it strong, "…as an independent action. There was an official notice from the Galbadian government saying that Balamb Garden is not being held responsible."

Zell frowned. "So Seifer's taking all the blame?"

Quistis had to swallow, then nodded slowly. The trembling was back. "The trial's over, and the sentence has been carried out..." Her voice was barely audible now, and fighting back sobs.

Thankfully, Rinoa cottoned on so that Quistis was spared from having to say it. Rinoa's face had gone as pale as Quistis's was. "...He was executed? ...Of course he was. He attacked the president. He sacrificed himself for the Forest Owls..."

At her softly pious tone, Quistis lost her temper. "It was _your_ group that got Seifer involved in all this," she snapped. Rinoa looked taken aback, but Quistis carried on. "You're a resistance faction, right? You must have been prepared for the worst." _Because this is it. _Her voice gained sadness as well as anger now. "I'm sure Seifer was prepared, too." _He always said he'd be ready for death. _She looked up at Rinoa once more, blue fire burning in her gaze. "So don't think of it as Seifer sacrificing himself for _you_." Then she stopped, recognising how unfair her words were. It wasn't Rinoa's fault; Seifer was – had _been_ – impulsive to a fault, she knew that. Quistis sighed. "I'm sorry. I guess that wasn't much consolation." Even as she said it, she wondered. _Who's there to console me? _

Rinoa looked toward her but not directly at her. "I'm sorry too."

Selphie asked the question that Quistis had been dreading. "Was he your boyfriend, Rinoa?"

At this, one dark-haired and one light-haired head came up. _I swear, if she tries to lay claim to him, I'm going to break her teeny tiny arm. _

"I don't really know…" Rinoa began. "I…I think I was in love."

Furious, Quistis turned on her. "You _think_?" she asked, eyes flashing. "How can you not-"

Luckily, and while Rinoa still had all limbs intact, Squall interrupted, startling everyone by yelling something about not having something. The emotion in his tone was what caught Quistis's attention. Squall. Emotion. Maybe even he was affected by news of Seifer's death. They all ran after him, until Quistis skidded to a stop.

Somehow, impossibly, Raijin and Fujin were coming into G. Garden. Quistis wanted to rail against the heavens for putting her here. Was it not enough that the man she loved was dead? Did she now have to break it to his closest friends?

Raijin called out to her. "Yo! Instructor!"

"What are you doing here?" Quistis asked. Fujin looked at her sharply, sensing the emotion in her tone.

"What am I doin'?" Raijin looked completely oblivious. "I'm a messenger, ya know? Brought you a new order from Headmaster Cid, ya know?"

That caught Squall's attention. "What kind of order?" he asked quickly.

Raijin shrugged. "I dunno. Gave it to the head honcho here. Just did what Headmaster Cid wanted, ya know?" "EXPLAIN," Fujin sighed. Raijin nodded. "We were suppose'ta go to Timber. But the trains have stopped, so we had no other choice but to come here. Kinda relieved to see you guys here," he confessed.

"SEIFER?" Fujin asked, looking around for the blonde man.

Quistis wanted to break down and cry. "Oh yeah! Wasn't Seifer with you?" Quistis's mouth trembled, and she had to fight to keep the sobs out of her voice. "I'm so sorry…but he's dead...he was tried in Galbadia…and then executed..." Turning away, she pressed her hand to her mouth and tried to look like she was grieving distantly for a former student rather than dying of sadness because the love of her life had been stolen.

"LIES!" Fujin yelled.

Raijin seemed to think it was a big joke. Oh, how she wished it were. "BWAHAAHAAHAA! That's gotta be a lie, ya know?! There's no way he'd put up with a trial, ya know?! Or an execution for that matter! It's just so not Seifer, ya know?!"

"FIND!" Fujin declared.

"We're gonna meet up with Seifer?" Raijin asked, eyes wide. Quistis wondered how a man so hulking and frankly _large _could look so innocent. "Well, see ya, Instructor. We're gonna head off to Galbadia to look for Seifer." 

_I'm so sorry, _Quistis thought. _I'm so so sorry. _ Once the ragged remnants of the posse had dispersed, Squall and the others set off.

Quistis found Selphie falling into step beside her. "Instructor?" she asked.

"Quistis," the blonde corrected automatically.

"Right, Quistis, what makes you think that Rinoa wasn't in love with Seifer?"

Quistis stopped sharply. "What?" Selphie regarded her with unexpectedly perspicacious green eyes. "Why don't you think she was in love?"

Quistis regarded the younger girl silently for a few moments with blue eyes that held a wisdom far beyond her years. In the end, though, she simply shrugged and continued walking. Inside, she answered Selphie's question. _Because she can still walk. Because she is not crying. Because…look at her. _ She turned to regard the dark-haired beauty walking toward the grounds, a little subdued but still listening to Zell chat away animatedly. 

_Because her heart is not breaking. _

**A/N: Aw poooooooor Quistis. But will it be a relief when she sees he's alive? Reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeview please!**


	13. Don't Listen

**A/N: Let's hope it's not unlucky thirteen! **

**Chapter Thirteen**

Quistis wasn't a hundred percent sure what happened next. When someone mentioned assassinating the Sorceress she became extremely happy in a vengeful way – but Quistis had known enough about revenge to be certain that though it would be temporarily satiating, it would not fill the gaping abyss in her heart. _No. Can't think about that. Can't. _She wouldn't function. Loss was part of a soldier's life. One she'd dealt with a million times before. A necessary cost; you accepted it and moved on. Pushed the grief back until you were safe, and it was alright to let it overwhelm you. Of course, it had always helped that she never got attached to anyone, not really. Except Xu, and the idea of losing her best friend had been bad enough. She'd never considered that it might happen to Seifer. He wasn't even a SeeD for Hyne's sake.

Suddenly it hit her. This was her fault.

How could she not have seen it before? How could she have been so blind? So stupid? Highest IQ in Garden, and she didn't see this. Seifer wasn't impenetrable. She knew him intimately – far more intimately than anyone else did. And even before that she'd known where and how hard to plunge the spear of her words during their verbal sparring. And yet she'd still done it. And Seifer had told her that she'd hurt him, and she'd heard that, and apologised, but she hadn't _heard _it. How could she not have heard it? Arrogance in the field of combat could be excused – he _was _incredible, but arrogance everywhere else…how could she have watched after him all these years and not seen that was fake. Though, in fairness, perhaps arrogance in the bedroom wasn't totally unfounded.

She fought back a wave of sobs (her seventy fourth this morning, if her estimations were correct) at the idea that she'd never have that sweet, agonising fire again. Oh Hyne, she already couldn't remember what he tasted like. There were so many things she'd miss.

But she had no one to blame but herself for this. He hadn't been cocky, or over-confident, or conceited. Just young, and insecure, and comfortable in letting no one get close. But she had gotten close. Too close. Close enough to make sure that her attacks would wound. It turned out they killed, too.

"_Danger. I'm a risk. And you like that."_

And she'd taken the risk. Thought it was worth it – for her, it had been. She got great sex, the thrill of the forbidden, all without losing her job. She fell in love. Never once had she considered that it wasn't her taking the risk. And taking the risk had cost Seifer his life.

She glared for the tenth time at the sniper – Irvine Kinneas, she thought – who apparently wasn't picking up the _don't flirt with me, don't even look at me _hints she was dropping. And by hints, she meant she was a few millimetres away from knocking him unconscious. The man wouldn't stop _winking _at her. And Rinoa and Selphie, but they seemed to be taking it in their stride. Especially Selphie, who blushed and giggled every time he did it. Well, that was fine with Quistis. All she cared about was that the sharpshooter shot the Sorceress. And Hyne help him if he missed, she'd kill him and then rip the Sorceress limb from limb herself. She'd never felt anger like this before – it felt like she had lava in her veins instead of blood, and no matter what she did, she couldn't uncurl her fists. It was blind rage – _nothing _that happened surprised or shocked her. Not even with Caraway being Rinoa's father, it just didn't matter to her. Nothing except this all-consuming need for vengeance did.

Anyone who talked to her, she snapped out replies, and was – though she would later feel ashamed of herself – incredibly rude to anyone who dared pursue an ongoing discussion. Rinoa got the brunt of it. By the time Caraway had his daughter locked in her room, she did want to apologise. She frowned and sighed. She really didn't have time – except she did have time. She was stuck here, doing nothing, while the Sorceress could be killing more people that other people loved.

At her sigh, Zell looked up. "Instructor, what's up?"

She shifted guiltily in her seat. "Maybe I was too hard on her…"

"Too hard?" he asked.

Taking a deep breath, she stood. "I'm going to apologise," she said firmly.

"You mean…Rinoa?" he asked.

Selphie looked scandalised at the breach of protocol. Good. The girl had promise yet. "But…but…we can't just leave our post!"

Quistis smiled wryly. _I remember being that strict about adhering to the rules… _"We still have time until 20:00. You two wait here." She knew that she couldn't really be going alone, but had no idea about how she was going to apologise to Rinoa without giving her at least some of the truth. Still, she ran out of the room without waiting for the others.

"We can't just- Hey, wait up!" Zell called.

Once they got inside, Quistis spoke. "Rinoa, I'm sorry I..." Suddenly, the door locked the group in with no warning. They all jumped and Quistis inwardly cursed while trying to open the door. "Did we get... locked in?" she asked no one in particular. Damn it all; another thing to blame herself for. Her need for revenge had blinded her to this too. Selphie was also spitting curses "...That Caraway guy?!" she demanded. Zell smacked his forehead. "We're smack dab in the middle of a family quarrel here!" Quistis was pacing. "This is bad. I'm worried about Rinoa, too." "What do you mean?" the blond man asked worriedly. Quistis elaborated. "Rinoa's probably on her way to see the sorceress as we speak." She cursed under her breath. "She wanted to help us..." _Shit. _She didn't stop pacing for another twenty minutes after that, not until there was suddenly the sound of music came from outside. She rushed over to the window. "It's starting! We need to get out of here, quick!" They made it onto street level in time for the worst moment of her life. -- It was chaos. There were people everywhere, most of them dancing and cheering along with the music. The parade float seemed to be the only source of illumination, and the whirling, shadowy masquerade of people all looked like phantoms, mocking ghosts taunting her, grinning, skull-like faces waiting to mutate into Seifer's at a moments' pause. Selphie skidded to a halt in dismay. "How the hell are we supposed to get through this?!"

Quistis wasn't listening, and her spine stiffened when Shiva slipped back into her mind. _Well?! _

Shiva sounded exhausted, and unbearably sad. _**He is alive.**_

Relief, glorious, blinding relief flooded Quistis, and one hand went up to press over her heart, pounding out its joy in her chest. _Thank Hyne. _Then she realised that Shiva was holding something back. _What are you not telling me?_

_**I could be wrong, Quistis. I don't know for sure. **_

_Shiva, you're worrying me now. What is it? Is he hurt?_

_**No. Quite the opposite in fact. **_

_The opposite? What in Hyne's name does that mean?_

_**You must prepare yourself.**_

Quistis felt tears threatening again. _For what? Just tell me!_

_**He has fallen to the dark. **_

_But you just told me he wasn't dead, I- _

_**No. He is alive. But he has fallen to her. **_

Quistis's eyes widened in sudden comprehension. _Please tell me you don't mean-_

Selphie's voice drew her away from Shiva. "Who's that up there with her?"

_Oh no_. Praying that she was wrong, and with the bile already rising in her throat, Quistis cast her eyes up at the Sorceress's float. To see an achingly familiar silhouette, standing tall and proud, Hyperion raised in salute to the cheering crowds.

Quistis threw up. She couldn't help it – her stomach just turned over in her shock and despair, and emptied its contents onto the grey pavement. She couldn't stop retching, even when there was nothing left in her stomach to get ride of, her stomach kept heaving in a vain attempt to expel the pain and the horror thrumming in her veins. _No. No no no no no no no. Please no. _But she looked up, and out of the thousands of people in the crowed cheering for him, Seifer's eyes had to land on the one drawn, haggard and pain-filled gaze in the crowd.

His expression was so strange. For a moment it was fierce joy; when her expression remained the same, his faded to incomprehension – not that she was there, but why she wasn't reacting like everyone else. He glanced toward the Sorceress, still enthroned on her golden seat. Quistis's eyes flew to her face; she received a chilling smile from the woman. The Sorceress looked to her Knight – her _Knight – _and gave an encouraging nod.

Seifer returned the nod, then winked at Quistis. It was simultaneously both charming and terrifying.

--

After the wink, she blacked out. It was like being drunk; she saw her movements, spoke words, fought…but none of it belonged to her. She was a prisoner in her own head, trapped behind steels walls of a soldiers' will and Shiva's ice. She allowed the ice goddess to soothe her psyche with cool hands. It helped. It helped a lot. It allowed her to pick up the scattered pieces of her heart and mourn over them in some distant, forgotten corner of her mind. It allowed her to weep without tears. It allowed her to die without loss of life.

It was not until she was sitting in the cold, dank cube of concrete in the D. District Prison – and with the help of an electric shock from one of the guards – that she awoke. And became aware of the numerous cuts and bruises that littered her skin. Oh well. What were a few more scars? She was in a cell with Rinoa, Zell and Selphie, all of whom were in pretty much the same condition she was. Zell was unconscious, and seemed to be dreaming again, from the roving of his eyes under their lids. Suddenly he shot up, breathing heavily. "Gah!"

He looked so comical that Quistis's smile was almost real. "Welcome back, Zell. The 'dream world' again?" she asked.

He nodded. "Yeah."

"How's Laguna doing?" Selphie asked. Her usual sunny manner was somewhat subdued – understandable. The girl had never been to prison before.

Quistis didn't really listen as Zell explained the details of his dream, resorting to brooding once more. When she became aware that she'd spaced out for several minutes, she looked up. "So, what is this we're all experiencing?" she wondered out loud.

Apparently the tension had been getting to Zell too. "How the hell should I know?!" he exclaimed.

Quistis bristled, but before she could respond, Selphie broke it, proving she was more diplomatic than Quistis had given her credit for. "Well since we're prisoners…Shouldn't we be trying to break out of here?!"

The word 'we' reminded Quistis of the fact that there was one 'we' who wasn't present. "I wonder what happened to Squall?" _He was pretty badly hurt. _"Did they bring him here too?" That led to more worrying, and she only half-listened to Rinoa and Zell's escape plan. From the snatches of it she caught, Rinoa sounded like she was actually making sense. _Well, miracles do happen. _With her unnecessary whining and pointless crying after Squall had been injured, the girl had been worse than useless.

Suddenly there was a loud bang, and they all jumped. It was followed by a horrific howling that was only just recognisable as human. It was a sound that Quistis – the most experienced one there – had heard before. A few seconds later, three prison guards came into the cell, and answered Selphie's question as to what that had been.

"It's the sound of your friend being tortured," he said, a smile twisting his face.

Zell surged forward. "What?! What do you mean?!" he demanded. He stopped fairly sharply when all three guards lifted their weapons.

"Shut up!" The guard seemed a little annoyed that he wasn't the one asking the questions. "Don't screw around with me! You understand who's in charge here!" When Zell looked like he would argue, he was grabbed without ceremony around the throat and pushed to the floor. Then kicked in the stomach, hard, several times. Selphie and Quistis winced, but knew better than to say anything. Rinoa did not.

"Stop!" she cried, tears streaming down her cheeks.

At her cry, the mean guy looked up. "Oh, I almost forgot." He turned to her. "Are you Rinoa?"

She nodded. "I'm Rinoa."

"Then come over here!" he ordered.

"What are you doing to Rinoa, you bastard?!" Zell gasped out hoarsely. He received another kick for his trouble, and Quistis could stay silent no longer. She'd just worked out who it was who would be torturing Squall, and to keep from throwing up again, she spoke.

"Stop it already!" she demanded, blue eyes icy and glinting with suppressed rage. An explosion was coming, she could feel it.

"Stop," Rinoa concurred. "I'll go."

She began to follow the guards from the cell – to Hyne knew where, or what. Quistis motherly instincts kicked in. Even though she was only a year older than Rinoa, the other girls juvenile nature meant that she felt responsible for her. "Rinoa…"

The brunette turned. "I'll be fine," she said reassuringly. It was obvious she did not think so, and neither did Quistis. For the first time, the two women felt like they were on the path to understanding each other.

After Rinoa had gone, it wasn't long before Squall's screams of pain came again. Quistis slumped back against the wall, once more refusing to believe what she was hearing. From the blankly stunned looks on Zell and Selphie's faces, they felt the same.

"Why, though?" Zell burst out when there was a lull in the harrowing noises. He didn't need to qualify what he was referring to. "I don't get why Seifer would go with her! I mean I hate the guy, but still…"

Quistis buried her head in her hands. _Because of me. This is all my fault. All I needed to do was to tell him why I loved him, to let him know how good he was, to show him how much I believed in him. But I didn't. And know he's found someone who will do all those things. _She took a deep breath. "Zell, just shut up. Please."

"Sorry, Instructor-"

"It's just Quistis. I'm not an Instructor anymore."

"Really?" He sounded so surprised. "But you were a great instructor!"

She smiled weakly. "Thank you, Zell."

"Are you feeling any better, Quistis?" Selphie asked quietly.

Numbly, Quistis shook her head. "I'm sorry about earlier. It's just…" She gave a tiny, bitter laugh. "He was my most promising student. To think him dead was bad enough, but I…I must truly have failed him for this to happen. For him to fall," she completed in a whisper. Throwing up had just been her body's natural reaction. There was too much shock and grief there for one human brain to handle. But she still felt nauseous. It wasn't the shock anymore, it was the rank smell of sweat and the lingering stench of vomit that still hung on her clothes. It was so thick she was almost choking on it. Hyne what was with her senses lately? She couldn't go two minutes without feeling sick. It had been going on for almost-

Suddenly, something clicked. It was like someone had flicked a switch in her brain. _Duh. _

She didn't cry, she didn't scream, she didn't make any outward sign of distress, because she didn't feel any. There was no sudden roil of turmoil within her. All she thought was _another thing that's gone wrong. _She felt like all the shock and pain inside her had been used up. She been emotioned-out. It was like a stone mask had frozen her features in place.

Selphie noticed when Quistis hadn't blinked for over a minute. Nor did she seem to be breathing. She touched her shoulder gently. "Miss Trepe? Quistis?"

Nothing.

"Shit, is she ok?" Zell asked.

"I don't know, she's not moving or responding," Selphie cried, shaking Quistis slightly.

"Is she in shock?"

"She must be but nothing's _happened._"

"You mean apart from all the shit that's gone on?" Zell asked, casting a quick Cure.

Once the glow of blue-white light had faded, Quistis blinked and drew in a deep, shuddering breath. She exhaled in a long sigh. "Quistis? Are you ok?" Selphie asked.

She nodded. "Yes, I'm sorry, I…I don't know what happened."

"You looked like you were going into shock. You have any what caused that?"

_Yes. _Rather than saying it, Quistis shook her head. "No idea. I guess it's just post traumatic stress maybe?"

"Hmm, maybe. But I mean this isn't your first mission-"

"More like my hundredth," Quistis muttered, one hand over her abdomen.

"So why now… Though I guess maybe…it has been emotional, huh?" she asked, smiling nervously.

Before Quistis could reply, there were more screams of agony echoing down the corridors and wafting into their cell. Before she could stop it, the second hand joined the first. _Don't listen. _Tears filled her eyes.

Luckily, Selphie's eyes were also filling with tears, so Quistis's went unnoticed. When the screams faded again, Selphie seemed to decide the best way to distract herself was to focus on Quistis again. "You're sure there's nothing else?"

Quistis shook her head. _Only one thing. _

"There's nothing."

_I'm pregnant. _

**A/N: I hope that surprised you, though you may have picked up the hints along the way. Pooooooooor Quisty. I'm really quite mean to her, aren't I? Oh well. She's a tough cookie, she can handle it. Review! **


	14. Escape

**A/N: Firstly, I'm so so so SO sorry about the incredibly long wait. I never intended to leave it that long, but a combination of real life and the muse not singing stopped me with FFVIII. However, I promise right now that I'll never abandon this or any story.**

**Enjoy! **

**Chapter Fourteen - Escape**

They got out. Somehow, with the help of a Moomba, Selphie's apparent ability to communicate with said Moomba, and Zell not needing weapons to cause damage. She'd never been so pleased to see her whip in her life. Vulnerable was not a state she was comfortable being in. She even abandoned her usual composure to agree enthusiastically with Zell that they 'kick some ass'. Of course, Biggs and Wedge – whoever they were – turning up, had put somewhat of a damper on her oddly fearless mood. The fear had come crashing back when she was knocked to the floor during the battle, and reminded harshly that she was now sharing her body. It was such a nuisance, knowing she was pregnant now. What exactly to do about that, she couldn't think. Not enough time now. _I'll deal with it later. _

When they finally got to Squall, he looked worse than she'd anticipated – although she knew he'd been tortured, it was obvious about just how badly he was hurt. He wasn't even strong enough to stand. Fresh tears filled her eyes. _Seifer, what have you done? _Pulling out all the potions she had on her, she passed them to the young SeeD. He took them with what was – for Squall – a grateful glance. Once he was standing on his own two feet again, the Moombas stepped back. Still calling him Laguna.

Zell and Selphie were looking as stunned and horrified as she was. "You ok?!" Zell asked.

Quistis wanted to tell him what a stupid fucking question that was. Squall drew in a pain filled breath. "It was hell…" Her fists clenched at her sides.

Zell swallowed. "Let's just get the hell out of here!" His mood brightened as he remembered the gunblade, and he pulled it out with a grin. "Catch!"

He threw the weapon to Squall, who caught it with the ghost of a smile. Once they were about to go out of the cell, all the Moombas bowed to Squall, called him Laguna again, and then they left. Quistis was puzzled by their behaviour, as were the others, but it wasn't outweighed by the desire to get the hell out of this prison. Back to Balamb, and back to safety. The fact that Squall had never been here as Laguna mattered to her, mainly because he didn't know how to get out. And then the alarms went off…all in all, not the thing to help her headache. Neither did the gunfire. Or Irvine winking when he finally decided to turn up.

However, Rinoa suddenly became Quistis's new best friend when she pushed him down the stairs. "Stop trying to act so cool!" she snapped.

_Wow, she has a backbone. And a brain, _Quistis thought. Maybe she'd been wrong about this girl. Oh well. Hormones. _Never thought _I'd _be using that excuse…_ Thank Hyne at least she appeared to be unhurt.

Rinoa planted her hands on her narrow hips. "You know, if you'd just agreed with me _earlier_, we wouldn't be in this mess!" she snapped. Squall took a few steps forward, and Rinoa's expression turned into one of utter relief and joy. It may have been lost on the young man, but Quistis knew that look. It was a look she'd never wear again. "Squall!" Rinoa cried. "Yeah! I knew you'd be ok!"

"Rinoa, you're alright!" Quistis wondered who had spoken with such enthusiasm…only to realise it had been her. _Oh dear_, one corner of her brain lamented. She was getting _emotional_ in _public_. What in the name of Hyne was the matter with her? She hadn't been like this before she knew she was pregnant – now she was suddenly concerned and maternal over everyone's welfare. This did not bode well.

Rinoa, still locked in her gazing with puppy-dog eyes at Squall, didn't answer, so Irvine did it for her.

"Uh huh," he said, standing and brushing himself off. "Of course. Courtesy of my escort," he smirked, bowing.

Zell frowned at Quistis's side. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Rinoa interrupted. "My father pulled some strings with the military." She looked down, a little ashamed. "He told them to get me, and only me, out." She overrode Irvine again, slapping her palm against her forehead and shaking her head. "Then this guy here…He came and got me. Just me! Knowing you were all captured! Isn't that horrible?!" she exclaimed, apparently oblivious to the four very unimpressed gazes being pointed at Irvine.

He put his hands up. "Alright, alright! I said I was sorry, geez! That's why I'm here to help!"

Rinoa turned around indignantly. "After I scratched you to death!" Quistis made a mental note to give Rinoa combat lessons. Good Hyne, how had she survived this long?

Irvine was stuttering. "A-a-anyhow, now's our chance!"

Squall was back to his old self. "The basement door is buried in sand," he said flatly.

"Course it is," Irvine replied. "This whole place is underground."

"Buried?"

The cowboy nodded. "That's right. This prison is-"

"There they are!"

Quistis sighed. Wonderful. More running and ducking.

When, what seemed like ten hours later, she felt a breeze on her face – a warm breeze, to be sure, but a breeze nonetheless, she wanted to shout for joy. The sky was so beautiful, just looking at it brought tears to her eyes. _**Quistis, do get a hold on yourself, **_Shiva cut in irritably. _**I know there's a lot more of these pesky chemicals floating around your system but really! **_

With effort, the blonde swallowed back her tears. "Now we're really out!" she declared to the others. She took two steps forward.

Mistake.

---

It was official. Quistis hated the desert, she hated Galbadians, and she _hated _prisons. Especially ones that were almost impossible to break out of. Underground. Whoever heard of putting a gaol _underground _for Hyne's sake?!

She sipped at the water Irvine passed her, enjoying the cooling sensation on her parched throat. "Thanks."

He winked and looked back at Squall. "Now what?"

Rinoa giggled nervously. "That was way too dangerous, wasn't it?"

Squall nodded. "Yeah."

Irvine shrugged nonchalantly. "I thought the whole thing was kinda slow."

"Let's just get going," the gunblader said.

Selphie piped up – her perpetual enthusiasm had not been dimmed by their stint in the underground prison. "I want to ride the yellow one!"

Yellow was her favourite colour. Why was Quistis not surprised? "I'll take that one too," she volunteered.

"Ok, me too," Rinoa echoed.

Quistis mentally groaned. Great. The two most chirpy people on the planet. And her, trapped inside a vehicle with them. Side by side, the two cars set off. They stopped once they'd gotten far enough away from the prison, though Squall didn't look like he knew why, and only returned their expectant looks with a blank one. "What?"

Her eyes widened. "The Sorceress is about to launch missiles at Garden?!" she exclaimed. _Ring any bells? Hyne this was one of my most intelligent cadets! How stupid are the rest of them?!_

Selphie nodded in agreement. "That's what Rinoa heard from Irvine!"

Squall shrugged. "The only thing we can do now is go back to Garden as soon as possible and warn the students." He gestured. "Alright, into the car and we'll go."

Selphie refused. "They're targeting both Balamb and Trabia Gardens! We have to interfere with the launch. We have to stop those missiles! I just transferred from Trabia!" She shrugged. "I can't just sit around knowing it's in danger." She adopted a pleading face. Quistis could have told her not to bother. Squall was immune to emotion. When that didn't work, she stamped her foot. "Decide who's going to go to the Missile Base, before it's too late!"

"Let's take a vote!" Rinoa added. "Squall will decide on the party, and return to Balamb because he's the leader. Anyone against this plan please raise your right hand."

Quistis met Zell's eyes, and they shrugged helplessly at one another, half-heartedly raising their hands but not actually being bothered enough to argue.

"I don't mind where you put me," Rinoa said with a smirk.

Quistis didn't care either. She was hot, she was tired, she was heartbroken and she was _pregnant _for Hyne's sake! Standing around chatting in the desert was not what she wanted to do right now.

"You're the leader, Squall," she pointed out impatiently. "What are the teams?"

Suddenly there was a _boom_, which Quistis recognised as something travelling at more than the speed of sound, breaking through the sonic barrier. She turned along with the others to stare at the three missiles just released by the Galbadians. Her heart plummeted as Selphie's cry of alarm rose. They were too late - the missiles had already been fired. The only question was were they heading to Trabia...or Balamb?

---

**A/N: Again, I'm so sorry about the long wait. Won't be that long in future, review please!**


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